Techie
by yorkie-s
Summary: King is out of control. The cafeteria raids are becoming much to frequent for Quinn's liking. How is she going to hide that she's a Mercer and continue helping 'king victims' when King is getting more out of control by the day? Pic Deviant ID:  angryangryasian
1. Chapter 1

Quinn squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. This was the third time that week that the 'cafeteria raids' had gone on. She was, for the most part, content at her school, even with its lousy reputation for students who were even lousier than the school. She managed to sneak by without being noticed, without being significant in any way. Being a Mercer, there was a huge ruckus that went through the school on her first arrival there; rumors that involved her brothers and the reputation that they had left behind for her to drown in. When she got to her first class on her first day, her teacher stood up to introduce her to the class, but she cut her off when she was about to say her last name. She shot the teacher a glance when she gave the name "Tregan" - her middle name - the teacher was quick to recover and silently comply with her. Within the week, the excitement of the new Mercer coming soon died when the name never appeared on any of the role call lists; Quinn made sure of that. She evaded any bullying and harassment by being uninteresting to the populace, but was acutely aware of those who were suffering instead. Like today.

Some poor student had accidently stepped into the path of the 'king', as the brute of a male self proclaimed himself to be; and who could disagree? The students paid homage to him, just like any commoner would to a lord, and he regarded them with as much respect as any other lord would. None. This agitated Quinn to no end. She had grown up in a hierarchy family lifestyle before coming to the Mercer household, and knew the ins and outs of being at the bottom of the 'blood line'; the end where no one noticed when they stepped on you. The student body was run in, basically, the same way. There was the 'royal family' – self proclaimed king, his queen, prince, jesters, dukes, lords, ladies, and jokers. Then there were the aristocrats, the knights of sorts; tainted so poorly even Don Quixote would have lost all hope for them. The middle class, which was the majority of the student population, who, like Quinn, managed to slip by unnoticed; and were happy to keep it that way. They just wanted to do what had to be done without any interruptions. Then, there were the commoners, the lowest class of the pyramid. They were the geeks, the losers, the druggies, and any individual who the 'king' had it out for. A system so well designed, it was almost impenetrable, built to exact failure on those who tried to change the system. Those individuals never lasted long. Like the poor sap who was discovering that the hard way in the cafeteria at that very moment.

It really wasn't his fault from the get go. He was new, a transfer student from Canada, of all places, and was unaware of the system the 'king' had put in place. He had the imponderable joy of learning the rules the hard way. Through the king's assassins – knights turned ninja. They were, to say the least, effective. They never failed in their 'missions' and they were feared through out the student body. With them securely under the king's control, and their loyalty in no danger of wavering, there was no chance of the system changing. This poor fool was also learning that the hard way. Painfully.

The assassins had the boy elevated above the rest of the cafeteria on top of the middle table; being pelted with flegs. The favoured weapon of the assassins for humiliation exploits. Flegs is a two part method of humiliation. First the victim is pelted with eggs – raw and slightly on the rotten side; an odor that is very hard to ignore and even harder to get rid of. Second, after being coated generously in rotten yolk, the victim is pelted with small cloth bags filled with rice and coated with flour. This caused more pain than the eggs, the goal of the bags being to be thrown as hard as humanly possibly, and the flour to leave the victim in a snowy coat of gooey egg and flour which was difficult to clean off. This made it easy to point out the 'accused' and leave them wide open for ridicule and avoidance of the entire populace. This method was effective and gathered the entire student body to rally together as a whole for the demise of one; regardless of political position.

When the flegs run out, or the king becomes bored – which ever came first – the student is thrown off the table; another show of strength, the goal being the same as a shot put competition. The farther they fly, the more points; a favoured game in the royal court. All this 'bravado' was just the build up to the finale. After the victim has been thoroughly destroyed and humiliated, to the point where they can not support their own weight anymore – or they don't want to – the king comes in for the final strike. The slow, timed steps he takes towards the fallen, echoing not only in the silent cafeteria, but also in the victim's head, all a means to cause terror and install fear into the masses. With slow, precise movements, he finishes off the victim however he feels like. Sometimes it's duct taping to the flag pole, sometimes it's the stripping of the victims clothes and chasing down the halls, and others it's just being beaten to a bloody pulp. The king was unpredictable in his methods. This also was used to control the masses. Fear was the best weapon he had.

The bell rang; not soon enough for the boy curled up on the cafeteria floor, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. The royal court filed out first; king, queen, prince, and so on. The other students watched, almost awestruck by it all. It was pathetic. The rest of the students filed out after, some taking care to step over or around the boy on the floor, others walking on him. Quinn swallowed hard, angry. This was to much some days. The cafeteria raids were getting too out of hand.

It wasn't too long until the room was empty, save for the boy on the floor and Quinn. She waited. When she was sure that every other student was safely tucked away in what ever class they had, she walked over to the boy. He was in bad condition. She couldn't be sure, but his nose looked broken. He had bruises forming all over his face, and she was sure there was more under his clothes. She knelt down beside him, gently coaxing him to roll over onto his back. She was going to have to be quick if she was going to help him. It wouldn't do either of them any good if she were caught helping him. It would only destroy everything she would have done for him up until that point.

"Please…" he whispered out, his voice hoarse. A few tears pooling at the corners of his eyes, slipping down his temple. Quinn pretended not to notice. "Please…no more."

She took a deep breath. "It's okay," was all she said.

She got right to work. She opened her purse and pulled out a small package of baby wipes. They came in handy more than once. She pulled out one and began cleaning his face as best she could. The egg was stuck in his hair, and the smell was pungent. When she was done, she fished her keys out of her purse, and put them in her pocket where she could quickly access them. Putting everything else away, she lifted the boys arm and, as gently as was possible, lifted him to his feet. He was unsteady, understandably shaken up and sore. She led him through the cafeteria kitchen, the staff giving no notice to the two as they hobbled through. This was, sadly enough, not the first time for them either. When they reached the back door, Quinn kicked it open and led the boy to her car, which she always parked at the back. The nobles and their fancy cars took up the best spots at the front of the school, and the rest were first come first serve. It was just easier to park where no one else would fight her for it, and where the kitchen staff generously let her in without protest.

She wasn't surprised when she saw Jack leaning against the passenger door of the car. A cigarette was dangling from the corner of his mouth as he lazily turned his head to where she was. Jack skipped almost every class he had, so she wasn't surprised that he would bum a ride home with her. She had worked hard in her earlier grades, taking all of her maths, sciences, English, and language courses. When she hit grade twelve, she had ample amounts of spare time, only needing to come to school every other morning, having the afternoons off. Jack, on the other hand, took off what ever parts of the day he wanted. He wasn't 'the school type' as he had told her once. He was more content playing his guitar and smoking.

"What's the story behind this one?" Jack asked, opening the back door as she slid the half conscious boy into the back seat.

She propped him up and secured his seat belt before replying. "Flegs and a royal beating. That answer it?"

He nodded, "Yeah sounds about right." He climbed into the passenger seat.

"Poor sap…" she mumbled, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car.

"Glad it's not you?"

She didn't respond. With Jack hardly ever at school, and the name difference – according to the attendance list – no one knew that she and Jack were related. That also had a little something to do with why she parked at the back of the school. She wasn't necessarily hiding; she was just avoiding the truth.

"What are you going to do with him?" Jack asked, looking at the guy in the rearview mirror.

"Hospital. I think his nose might be broken and I heard a nasty crunch when the king kicked him."

"Why do you call him that?" He looked at her now.

"What?" she gave Jack a quick glance.

"King. Why do you buy into their little game? Why not call him by his name?"

"You need to be human to have a name."

Jack was thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "Even dogs have names." He pointed out.

She sighed. Dogs didn't treat other dogs the way this brute treated his 'subjects'.

They were silent the rest of the ride. The boy in the back would groan every so often, but stayed relatively silent. When they reached the hospital, Jack helped her pull the boy out of the back seat and carry him inside. The glass doors opened with an airy sound, the wheels screeching as they turned. Quinn knew how much Jack hated hospitals, and, to tell the truth, she wasn't a huge fan of them either. She always felt like she was breathing in sickness every time she stepped in. Nothing good ever seemed to happen to her when ever she was in a hospital. She was either in it for her own ailments, or because Bobby or Angel had been stupid and gotten themselves into some deep shit. Either way, no good news was ever delivered from the hospital to the Mercer home.

The trio hobbled to the front desk, the boy nearly dead weight between the two of them.

"We need help." Quinn said, rapping her knuckles against the class of the secretary desk.

A large woman sat behind the protective glass, in a chair much too small for her. She had frizzy blond hair and a nose to small for her pudgy face. She looked up at them with pale, dreary eyes, and gave a sigh. This wasn't her first fleg victim either, apparently.

"Not another one." She said with almost a groan. Quinn just nodded. "This has to be the third time this week that we've had patients come in looking, and smelling, like that!"

"What can we say, high schools a bitch." Jack grunted, heaving the semi-conscious boy up.

"We'll get a wheel chair and have him looked at. What are the…uh symptoms?" the secretary asked, grabbing a pen and clip board.

"Possible broken nose maybe fractured ribs. I heard a nasty crunch when he was…kicked, and bruising. That should be about it."

"Honey, high school wasn't as dangerous when I was there." She gave a sigh.

Quinn just nodded as she and Jack gently placed the boy into the chair a nurse had brought over.

"He should have a wallet in his back pocket." Quinn said. The nurse thanked them both before wheeling him off, out of the waiting area. Quinn let out a deep breath before turning and heading for the door. She just wanted to get home and not think for the rest of the day.

"Are you not going to stay with him?" Jack asked, walking beside her to the car.

She shook her head, "No, he should have a driver's license or library card or something with his name on it in his wallet. They'll be able to find out who his family is; they always do with king victims."

"There you go again." Jack gave a snort.

"With what, Jackie?" she gave an exasperated sigh, grabbing her keys from her pocket and jamming them into the car lock.

"That king business. It's just so juvenile." He lit up another cigarette before climbing in.

"No smoking in my car." She shot him a look. Jack just shrugged, knowing she wouldn't do anything about it. "King isn't a term of respect, as far as I am concerned. If I were to use his name…it would then have to mean he was human, and anyone who can do that to another person with no remorse can't be human." The car sputtered to life, and she slowly pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

"Hell, Quinn, Bobby beats people up all the time and I don't see you calling him "Michigan Mauler" all the time."

"That's different! With Bobby, there's a sense of camaraderie. He gets frustrated, or someone picks a fight, or _he_ picks a fight, but when all punches have been thrown, everyone is still…more or less, friends at the end of the day. It's like when he calls you Fairy, or me Techie. It's not to climb the social ladder, or look cool, it's because that's who he is. And we know he loves us and cares about the people he beats up…because that's just how he treats his friends. The only time it is not that way is when something wrong has gone on; Bobby doesn't hurt people for the sake of hurting people." Her brow furrowed as she spoke; most of the time she was a black and white thinker, especially when it came to her brother's 'extra curricular activities' but she was finding she had a lot of gray areas with them too.

"Well aren't you a funny little thing." Jack said, blowing smoke out the corner of his mouth.

"Shut up, Jack." She muttered, squeezing the steering wheel with both hands.

Thankfully, the car ride was a short one. The Mercer home was conveniently located near the hospital, which they frequented on many occasions. Quinn pulled up into the driveway, shut off the car, and made her way into the house; Jack ambling behind her. She flung the door open, leaving it that way for Jack, shook off her shoes, and scurried up to her room to drop her bags. She had had enough of today and was very glad that she didn't have to see anyone from the school.

She grumpily flopped onto her bed, determined to not get back up for a good three minutes; at least. Her frump was broken rather quickly when a loud knock echoed through her small room. She muffled a stream of curses into her pillow before yelling out a barely audible 'what' before sitting up. Bobby walked in, holding a bottle of beer in his hand, staring at her with a somewhat cross expression. Quinn groaned internally; what did she do now?

"Skipping classes are we?" Bobby asked, placing his free hand on his hip; trying to intimidate her.

Quinn rubbed her face, "No sir, I don't have classes in the afternoon today. We go over this every other day." She gave a yawn before standing up and pushing past Bobby to go down stairs. She could hear him clunking down the stairs behind her. Damn he was loud.

She veered off towards the kitchen when she got to the bottom of the stairs, headed straight for the fridge and the first thing of juice she could get her hands on. She needed a good nap, and she had some homework she needed to get done. She rummaged through the fridge a bit before settling on an orange, due to the juice that they didn't have, and settled at the table.

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" Jack asked as he came into the kitchen.

She shook her head, "No I'm free tomorrow. Why?"

"I need a ride."

Shocker!

"Where and why?"

Jack gave her a smirk, shaking his head. She was nosy, but she didn't care. She was going to get a reason before she drove Jack anywhere. If shit went down, her ass was the one Bobby was going kick right after he finished kicking Jack's. Bobby loved Jack like a son; he would forever be the baby of the Mercer's even though she was the youngest one now. She didn't care overly, though. They were all her big brothers. That was good enough for her.

"I'm going to see my girl tomorrow, and I need a ride to her house." He said, ruffling up her hair. "Nosy Nelly."

She swatted his hand away. "Fine, I'll give you a ride." She shoved a piece of orange in her mouth. "But you owe me."

"Owe you what? This?" he asked, dragging her out of her chair and throwing her over his shoulder. He started heading for the door.

"Jack stop! Put me down now!" she yelled, beating her hands on his back; it did no good. He just laughed.

Upon reaching the front door, he threw it open and carried her down the front steps, dropping her into a nearby snow heap. She screamed as the cold bit at her skin and soaked her clothes. He pinned her down with his knee and rubbed her face down with a handful of snow. She fought him as best she could, but it didn't work. She spat up the chunks of ice that were forming in her mouth, covering her face with her hands. This left the rest of her unprotected. Jack grabbed more snow and started shoving it down the collar of her shirt. Being the youngest for so long had made him the brunt of all the face washing and other brotherly bullying in the Mercer home. When Quinn came along, Jack was no longer the target, but the cohort in the face washings. He was finally on par with his brothers; and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

When he eventually stopped, Quinn's face was red from the snow and the anger flaring up in her cheeks. Jack was laughing his head off, pinning her in the snow as her rear started to go numb with cold.

"'Kay let me up." She said, trying to push him off.

"No chance," he grinned devilishly, and the process started again.

Between the handfuls of snow to her face, Quinn managed to scream out Bobby's name before her mouth was filled with snow again. Bobby came barging out the door, eyes scouring the front yard for the source of the scream. When he saw Jack giving her a face wash, he laughed and stood there for a minute before going over and pulling Jack off. Her face was very numb and prickly, and she gave a sigh of relief; all too soon. Bobby grabbed his own hand of snow and gave her a third wash. Now she was pissed. Both boys were laughing at her, and she was about ready to pop. She mustered all the strength she could and pushed Bobby off with both feet, sending him flying across the yard. She quickly pushed herself out of the snow heap and walked over to Jack, who was laughing, and punched him in the gut. He let out a very satisfying grunt and doubled over at the waist. Quinn smirked, pushed him down into the snow, and headed inside. She closed the door behind her, locked it, than ran to every other door and window in the house and locked them all.

It wasn't long before there was loud banging to be heard from the front door. She walked to the window, where both Jack and Bobby were angrily knocking, and streaming cruses at her. She was going to pay for this later, she knew, but for now she was going to enjoy it.

"Are you going to stop face washing me?" she asked through the window. Both bows glowered angrily at her, but eventually conceited as the cold bit through their thin clothing.

This was going to have to suffice. Bobby was, generally, a man of his word, so she took a risk in trusting him on this one. She slowly unlocked the door and let them both in.

"Damn it, Techie!" Bobby exclaimed. "It's fucking cold out there!"

"Funny how that didn't matter when I was the one in the snow being face washed. Feel this!" She said touching her cheek. Bobby placed his palm on her cheek, which she could barley feel over the numbness and the heat prickling her face back to life.

"How many did Jackie-poo do before I got to you?" He asked. Her face was very red, and very cold.

"You were lucky number three." She said, smirking.

"Jackie! That's not very nice! Picking on your sister like that!" Bobby said, giving Jack a small whack on the back of the head. He was such a hypocrite.

"Look who's talking!" Jack shot back. "You came along just in time to finish her off!"

"You both suck, as far as I am concerned. Which is a lot, considering it's my face you were rubbing!" Quinn shot, trying to warm her face up with her hands.

Bobby laughed, "Well we all knew sooner or later Cracker Jack would get jealous of not being the baby anymore and start resenting you."

"Shut up, man." Jack said, pushing past Bobby to the kitchen, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Quinn just sighed, and headed upstairs to the bathroom for a hot shower. Her whole body was starting to convulse with shivers as the cold and wetness began to set in.

"Don't think this is over!" Jack called from the kitchen.

"Don't think I won't refuse to drive you tomorrow!" she shot back before closing the bathroom door behind her. All she could hear as she turned on the shower was her brothers' rough housing in the kitchen beneath her. She laughed. Stupid boys.

* * *

The Quinn from this story is the same Quinn from my other story "Crutches". I've written multiple stories about this one character, and they all take place during different times of her stay with the Mercer's. So, they may not all match much, but that's because they aren't really a time line of her life; just stories of her life.

Hope you enjoyed chapter one! I have no idea when I'll update.

Yorkie-s


	2. Chapter 2

Sunlight. Whoopie. Always the brightest on the days that she had time to sleep in on. The sun was just barely christening the rooftops of the other houses and her windowsill. The rest of the house was asleep for this gorgeous display; Quinn, however, was _blissfully_ awake. The night before – which was only three hours prior to that very moment – Jack and Bobby and Angel had all decided that they were going to surpass their body's alcohol intake capacity, and get piss drunk. This would normally not bother Quinn, seeing as they usually passed out down stairs, and the house was wonderfully silent till about two in the afternoon. This time was different.

Jack had managed to stumble his way up to his room around three thirty; very, very drunk. Quinn had been almost fully asleep when he barged through the door, slamming it against the wall and leaving a dent in the drywall. His glazed eyes glided over the room, before he walked over to the window, threw it open and retched all over the roof. This woke Quinn up more than the door. When he had finished, his gaze fell onto the poor, unsuspecting Quinn. With a gleeful giggle, he glomped onto her bed, wrapped his long arms around her and pulled her into a drunken hug. Before she was able to push him off, he passed out, holding onto her as tightly as ever. So, Quinn was stuck in a vomit scented hug for the rest of the night.

Now it was morning.

With an aggravated sigh she tried to unhook Jack's arms from around her, but to no avail. For such a scrawny kid, he sure was strong. No doubt having Bobby, and Angel, and Jerry as older brothers forced him to be tough. Quinn was lucky. Being a girl, she didn't have to live up to the male bravado that dominated the Mercer home. For that she was thankful. But having to put up with happy hour at two in the morning and vomit hugs at three, she was a little less grateful for those. Those were the times were she wondered why she ever crawled out from the closet her first day.

_Young and naïve. _

With one last heave, she gave a grunt and threw all her weight towards the edge of the bed. This was a desperate attempt when she had no other options. Hopefully, the impact of hitting the floor would wake Jack, and leave him stunned enough that Quinn would be able to get away without him realizing that she had thrown them both onto the floor; and she would escape his morning grumps. She could feel the edge of the bed vanish, and the floor smack her hard on her side. She could also feel Jack's grip loosen as he was shocked awake. Quickly, she pushed him away from her, got too her feet, and ran to the door. She had a slight limp as she pulled it open and headed down the hall towards the stairs. Success…minus the limp.

"Quinnie, you up?"Angel yelled from the kitchen.

"Yeah," she replied, wincing as she got off the last step. She was going to have a bruise, she was sure.

"Do you want some breakfast?" It was then she heard, and smelt, the bacon cooking.

"You're cooking breakfast?" she replied, incredulously, as she walked into the kitchen.

Angel gave a small smirk and threw a dish towel at her. "Shut up. Believe it or not, I do know how to cook."

"I'll believe it when I don't die from food poisoning." Quinn said sitting down at the table.

Angel brought a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast over and set it down in front of her. She took a deep breath, grateful for something that didn't reek like vomit for a nice change. Her stomach rumbled; she hadn't realized how hungry she was; she was normally never hungry in the mornings. She grabbed her fork and took a large bit of the eggs, which basically melted once they hit her tongue.

"Angel…this is really good." She said through mouthfuls. "Like, really good. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"You learn more than just how to kill people in the army." Angel stirred the eggs around in the pan. "You get placed on cook teams and you either learn fast, or scrub toilets with your toothbrush. I was a fast learner."

Quinn laughed as she went to get more. In all her time living with her brothers, she had never once seen Angel cook. It was either her, their mom, or Jack who did the cooking. The latter one was less willing than the other two. After Evelyn had died, the cooking and other sort of household duties was split between her and her brothers ten, ten, thirty, and fifty. Jack helped more than the other two did, but it was still mostly her job to keep the house looking presentable. Oddly enough though, it didn't really bother her. She found a strange sort of solace in doing house work; it made her feel close to her mom when she did. Plus her life was so mundane she needed something to keep her distracted from the huge social life she didn't have. With the kind of people she went to school with, she was quite alright not being bestest of best friends with a vast majority of them. She would sooner become sick to her stomach than be filled with warm, fuzzy feelings for them.

As she finished off the last of her seconds, Jack had managed to stumble his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Ready to greet the world with a smile?" Quinn asked with mock enthusiasm.

Jack just gave her a blank look. "What?"

Quinn gave a sigh. "How in the world does your girlfriend put up with these drunken stupors you so blindly allow Bobby to walk you into all the time?

"Girlfriend…oh her." Realization dawned on his face ever so lightly. "Yeah that ended last night."

That explained a lot of everything that had gone on. It wasn't very often Jack was drunk enough to come upstairs for a cuddle fest with his sister. The last time that had happened, he and his band had lost some gig at a club and Jack was quite heartbroken about it. That girl must have meant something to Jack. With a sad sigh, she went and wrapped both arms around her brother.

"I'm sorry, Jackie." She said, leaning her cheek against his chest. She hardly even reached his shoulders, he was so tall.

"Thanks," he said returning the hug. He leaned his head down and planted a quick kiss on the top of her head.

She always knew what to say to him, what not too, when not too, and when he just needed a drunken cuddle. She was a good sister. And likewise, he knew all the same for Quinn; minus the drunken cuddles. Bobby would kill her if she ever came home drunk. She was probably the one person - other than Bobby and his other brothers - he trusted the most in this world. They had turned out to be more similar than any of the others could have ever imagined she would be. When she came into their home, she was in bad condition, and she was scared, and so small.

Jack was the first person she talked too. She had been curled up in her blankets her third night there, whimpering and shaking. Jack, unable to sleep, ventured across the room and sat on the edge of her bed, coaxing her to come out and talk to him. When she did, she spilled everything to him. Her entire past came out in one gush, and, by the time she was done, she looked like a huge weight had been lifted from her. Jack had been so stunned; he could not believe the same, atrocious similarities that their pasts held. A bond formed between the two that night; one deeper than blood.

"So, now that my day has been freed up, what say you and I, if you also have no plans, go for a long, glorious day of shoe shopping, dressing shopping, and then get our nails done?" she said, clasping her hands in front of her and fluttering her eyelashes in a showy flash of girlishness.

Jack rolled his eyes and Angel chuckled. They both knew just how serious her suggestion was. Not at all.

"That sounds like fun. I'm sure the little Fairy would love to find a wand that matches his tutu. You know how he gets when the rhinestones don't shimmer in just the right way." Bobby said, sauntering into the kitchen clad in boxers and an off white muscle shirt.

"Oh I know right? I mean, my eyebrows have been uneven for, like, ever! And I can't get my hair to do that flippy thing and I think I broke a nail last night. My life is so over!" Quinn said, speaking through her nose and pitching her voice up and down as she spoke.

Bobby smirked, "Looks like you and your big sister are gonna have a girl's day out!" he ruffled up her hair before going to the fridge and began rummaging through.

Quinn smirked, going to dump her dishes in the sink before heading upstairs to get dressed. She had no intentions of doing any of the things she had suggested to Jack, except maybe get some new shoes. She was looking forward to a day of relaxing and hanging out with her brother. She hadn't had a chance to have a decent talk with him in ages and desperately needed a good heart to heart with him. He always seemed to be busy with something else; hanging with friends, or strumming that guitar of his, or hanging with his (ex) girl. As sad as she was for him, she was a little bit glad. Now she would have Jack's full attention for at least one day of brother sister bonding where his head wouldn't always be on some other girl he could be hanging out with.

She was quick to get dressed before heading back down stairs to meet Jack at the door. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, leaning back as he whistled a low tune. He always looked so laid back; like he had no cares in the world. Quinn admired that about him immensely. She was always the worry wart of the family; bustling about, trying to keep things as orderly as possible and keep her brothers out of trouble as only their mom could. Jack was her life line; her steadfast. Always ready to pull her back to shore when her boat sailed too far out.

"You ready, squirt?" He asked, opening the door.

Quinn grinned, "Si gigantor!" she said giving him a salute, slipping her feet into her shoes.

Jack just rolled his eyes and headed out the door; Quinn trailing happily behind him. If not for the massive difference in height and slight difference in age, they could almost pass for twins. They both had dark, sandy-blonde hair, blue green eyes, and fair skin. They acted like twins most of the time, too. More often than not, Jack finished her sentences, and she hummed the end of his unwritten songs before even hearing them. They had some weird telepathy thing that freaked Bobby out to no end, but only bonded Quinn and Jack closer together. There was just something about the two together that was indescribable. The pair just fit together; as close as twins. Completely inseparable.

"So where are we going today?" Jack asked, peering down at the small girl.

She craned her neck to look up at him. "I was serious about the shoe shopping, mine are getting ratty." She said, looking down at her blue converse. She had bought them ages ago, and the backs of them were split right where the fabric met the shoe, and the sides were wearing thin; but she didn't have the heart to throw them out. She loved them to much.

Jack gave a small sigh. "Well if it is a necessity.

"Very much so. Bobby threatened to throw these ones out if I didn't get a decent pair soon."

Jack nodded, "Yeah, Bobby never was the one to understand fashion trends." Jack said with a smirk. "'Specially ones as weird as yours."

She gave him a playful shove. "Coming from you mister 'fingerless gloves'. I'm sure Bobby just adores that one."

"Touché" he said with a small laugh.

Conversation quickly took over, and the two talked non-stop about their lives. Though they shared a room, and saw each other every day, they rarely had a chance to talk about things going on, so Quinn was very happy to have this time with Jack to actually voice problems she was having.

"I'm really ready to graduate now." She said, exasperated. "I just want to get out of that hell hole, and move on, get a job, and never have to see anyone from there ever again!"

Jack nodded, thoughtfully. "See," he started, "I know why Bobby, and Angel, and why I hate school. But, being the academic addict that you are, I am perplexed as to why you don't like it there. I would think you would love being around all those smart, book loving, nerds six hours a day." He said with a grin.

"'Perplexed', good word." She commended him.

"Thank you, I do get a good word in every blue moon or so." He laughed.

Quinn smiled. This was the Jack she loved talking to; the Jack who wasn't always worried about looking tough, or cool in front of Bobby. It was the Jack who had a broad vocabulary, and who used it.

"You really don't know why I hate that place?" she asked, returning to his original question.

He nodded.

"Need I remind you of that time I came home with a new hair cut back in middle school?" she said, alluding to the time when a group of her peers had cornered her behind the school and proceeded to brutalize her and restyle her hair. It was a fun time.

Jack smirked a little and nodded. "Yeah, Bobby had a hay day with that one, didn't he?"

Quinn laughed lightly, "Yeah he did," she said, remembering the incident.

She had been going home as quickly as possible and the only thing she could think was shit. Shit, shit, shit! How was she going to hide this from Bobby? It's not like she got something pierced or tattooed, she'd at least be able to cover those up! No, this was her hair! How the hell was she going to cover her head all the time? She couldn't just suddenly start wearing hats; they all knew how she hated hats and thought she looked horrible in them! Shit!

That stupid bitch Cicily was just lucky she possessed no fighting skills what so ever in her tiny little body. No secret kung fu moves, no mixed martial arts, no Mercer style fighting, nothing! She was so sure she would be able to avoid Cicily today, but she was wrong! The bitch had cornered her outside school on the basketball court with her stupid little bitch lackeys and things suddenly turned ugly.

Cicily had had it out for her the second she took her first steps into school three years ago. Quinn couldn't quite figure out what it was that made the girl hate her so much, but she did. Quinn did get a lot of attention from guys, seeing as she was Jack's little sister and she hung out with him and his band mates at lunch, and just naturally attracted guys around her. She didn't ask for it, but Cicily's (ex) boyfriend was one of the guys that hung out with them at lunch. He was a nice enough guy, and never once did Quinn even remotely think about him in any other way than "that guy that hung out with them at lunch". But for some reason, Cicily took it personally. Could be because Quinn _was_ the only girl in that group…but it could also be some thing else…

As Cicily's little group took their jabs at her, both physically and emotionally, Cicily pulled out a pair of scissors and began hacking at Quinn's long, golden blond hair. By the time they were done, her hair was now closer to ear length than chest length, her stomach and sides were, she was sure, blossoming with blue and black butterfly bruises, and she felt like Cicily might have missed her hair at one point and stabbed behind her ear by accident…or maybe not by accident.

Now, Quinn was hobbling home as fast as she could, praying that no one was home yet, and desperately racking her brain for a way to hide this from her brothers. They had this huge sister complex, and if they found out about this, they would first find some way to make Cicily's life hell, and then taunt Quinn about how she was beat up and lost and so on and so forth. Maybe she could cover it up if she hurried fast enough.

Her house soon came into view, the drive way empty. She sighed gratefully, wincing as that put strain on her bruised ribs, and ran (if you can call it running) up the front stairs and through the covered porch. She had the hood of her sweater pulled all the way over her head and the strings tightened under her chin as she dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes once inside.

"Quinnie, is that you?" She heard Bobby yell from the kitchen; no doubt grabbing a beer - or a third beer.

"Yeah…"She said hurriedly as she booked it for the stairs, her ribs protesting as she took the stairs by two.

"Hold up a sec!" Bobby yelled, coming into the entrance way. "Why are you so late? It's almost four thirty!" he said, beer in one hand, the other shoved into his pocket.

Quinn froze on the fifth step, not facing Bobby. "Uh, study group." She said quickly. She sucked at lying, but hopefully Bobby thought she was nerdy enough to have a study group to believe her this time. "Didn't I tell you I was staying late?"

"Bull shit!" Bobby said, taking a swig of his beer. "What are you hiding?" he asked, advancing towards the stairs.

Quinn started to panic and ran up the rest of the stairs, Bobby hot on her heels. She headed straight to the bathroom and would have closed the door and locked it, if Bobby hadn't shoved his foot in the way. Quinn heard a loud "shit" followed by a long stream of other curses when she accidently slammed his socked foot in the doorway.

"Quinn, you stupid little techie, you better let me in!" he growled as he pushed on the door. He was a good deal stronger than her, but he was forced to only use one hand, seeing as the other was holding his beer. Quinn, was, quite literally, using all her strength to keep Bobby out of the bathroom, but to no avail. Bobby, who was quite frustrated at this point, used all his weight and slammed against the door, sending Quinn flying across the floor and crashing head fist into the wall under the bathroom window.

Her vision swam a little as she used the toilet as leverage to get back on her feet. Bobby set his beer on the sink counter and stood towering over her. She slowly turned to face him and, with little thought, sprinted towards the small space between Bobby and the bathroom doorway, just barley managing to escape his grasp. She did manage to get knocked against the door post, sending pain up her side and causing her to falter slightly. Her only hope was getting to the bedroom her and Jack shared. It was one of the few rooms in the house that actually locked and she was almost sure she could get there before Bobby. She was wrong…again.

She had just reached the threshold of her room, when Bobby's strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She winced in pain as he dropped her on her bed and pinned her there.

"You really thought you could get away from Bobby "The Michigan Mauler" Mercer?" he asked, holding both her hands with his one and untied her hood. "What are you hiding from me?" he asked as he pulled the hood back. He stopped when her head was exposed and just stared at her. "What happened?" he asked, serious now.

She just turned her head away from him and fought the tears that were stinging her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do, after losing a fight, was cry in front of Bobby. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"Quinn what happen?" he asked louder now.

"I said nothing, now let me up!" she said, struggling to get her hands free, which didn't work. Bobby put a hand on her side to keep her from wiggling, right on one of her bruises, which made her wince. His forehead creased with confusion as he lifted the edge of her shirt.

"What are you doing, freaking pervert!" she said, trying really hard now to get away. She didn't want Bobby to see the bruises.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, shocked at how many bruises covered her abdomen. "Quinn, who did this to you?" he was practically yelling now.

"NO ONE!" she screamed back, using her legs now to push Bobby off. He backed away and watched as she ran from the room. She ran down the stairs, unsure of where she was actually headed, when the front door opened and Angel walked in, fallowed by Jack.

They both stopped when they saw her, and she froze on the last step. She was about to head back up stairs, when Bobby came thundering down behind her. She swallowed hard and made a beeline for the living room. She knew they would all follow her, and she was just glad Jerry wasn't there as well; though he would find out soon enough. She sat down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned against the armrest; she didn't care right at that point how much the position hurt.

All three men came in and stared at her; she just sniffed and rubbed her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. She had given up on the 'not crying' thing; it really wasn't working in her favour. She was glad she had left her glasses in her back pack, they probably would have gotten broken after getting thrown into the bathroom wall like that.

"Sweetie, what happened to your hair?" Jack asked; the first to break the silence.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She mumbled.

"Don't pull that shit with us!" Bobby yelled. She couldn't tell if he was angry or concerned; probably both. "And don't tell me you don't know how you got those bruises on you sides!"

"Bruises?" Angel asked, looking at Bobby.

"Yeah, bruises. She looks like someone used her as their fucking punching bag." Bobby spat bitterly.

"It's nothing, Bobby. I promise, it's nothing." Quinn said, pulling her legs underneath her.

"I said don't fucking bull shit with us!" he yelled now. Quinn just sat there, tears more apparent now as they flowed down her cheeks. She lifted her sleeve and wiped them away. "What the fuck happened?"

"You already know! Clearly, I was beat up! What the fuck else do you want to know?" she yelled back.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me!" Bobby pointed his finger at her, getting more frustrated. "Now I want to know who the fuck beat you up, and I want to know now!"

"Eff," Quinn countered the curse that was stinging the tip of her tongue. "You'd think _I_ was the one in trouble or something the way you're screaming at me." She shot back.

"I've just about had enough of your back talk, Quinn!" you could almost see steam coming out of Bobby's ears.

"She's right Bobby, you need to calm down." Angel said, putting his hand on Bobby's shoulder.

"Yeah man, she's already crying. You want to send her into hysterics?" Jack asked, sitting next to Quinn on the couch.

Bobby watched her for a second, allowing himself to calm down before he said anything else. He was going to get the little fucker that beat up his baby sister. He balled his hands into fists as he watched her. She rubbed her nose with her sleeve and did that adorable little high pitched squeak thing every time she sniffed when she cried.

When she was eight, she had tripped while carrying a glass bowl and got shards of glass stuck in her palm. Bobby , who was seventeen at the time, and Jack, who was a year older than Quinn, had been watching her and both rushed around, trying to clean up the blood, and their sister, and tying to get her to stop crying. They drove her to the hospital, figuring she would need stitches. The whole ride there, she did the little squeak when she sniffed. Jack sat with her in the back seat, one arm wrapped around her shoulders as she clutched a not so white towel to her left hand. She was terrified of getting stitches. It scared her more than the dark did, and she was petrified of the dark. Jack was scared of hospitals, and stayed in the car while Bobby took Quinn in to see the doctor. They got in soon enough - mainly because her hand was gushing blood - and they sat in one of the rooms waiting for the doctor.

He had set her on the bed and he took the chair closest to the bed as they waited. Five minutes later, a doctor came in and said they could do the stitching right there. Quinn started to squirm and wouldn't let the doctor near her, and she started crying again. Bobby was starting to get annoyed with the situation. He wasn't about to stand around while some guy was making his baby sister cry, but he also wasn't going to let her sit there and bleed till she died. Taking a deep breath, he picked her up under her armpits and set her down on his lap. The doctor gently explained everything he was doing to her and when she got to spooked she just leaned against Bobby's shoulder. They managed to get out of there in fifteen minutes; Jack safe in the car and Quinn eating a sucker she had gotten for being brave. When they were in the car, Jack sat in the back again with Quinn, and she pulled out a bright yellow sucker she had hidden in her pocket and handed it to Jack. She then leaned forward and handed a red one to Bobby.

"Did you steal these?" Bobby asked, un-wrapping it and popping it in his mouth.

She settled back in her seat and shook her head. "Nope," she said pulling her sucker out of her mouth and licking her lips. "I asked if I could take two for my brothers." She said and popped her sucker back in, humming some tune from one of her TV shows. Bobby and Jack both laughed and hummed along with her the entire ride home.

Now, seeing her cuddled up next to Jack, and crying because someone had used her as a punching bag, sent Bobby off the deep end. But he needed to stay calm. He took a deep breath and walked towards Quinn, kneeling in front of her so he was eye level.

"Quinnie bear, I need you to tell me who did this to you." He said as calmly as he could.

She took a quivering breath, sending shots of anger through Bobby. "You couldn't do anything about it even if you knew." She said and rubbed her nose again; that cute damn little squeak.

"Why not?" Jack asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Because it was a girl." She mumbled, pulling the neck of her sweater up over her nose.

"A girl?" they all asked shocked. Quinn nodded, brushing her newly cut bangs out of her eyes. "A girl did this to you?"

"Well not just one girl…" she said softly.

"How many?" Bobby asked; he could feel his temper rising. When Quinn shook her head, he grabbed the neck of her sweater and pulled it down to expose her face. "Quinn, how many?"

She sighed slightly and began silently counting off on her fingers. She stopped when she was holding up six fingers. "Including Cicily, about six I think."

"Cicily? Cicily Palmer?" Jack asked shocked. Quinn just looked down and nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Who's Cicily Palmer?" Angel asked, squatting down next to Bobby.

"She's this bitch at our school. She was captain of the cheerleading squad, but busted up her knee a month or so back and had to drop out. Her ex hangs out with us at lunch sometimes, in the cafeteria. They broke up 'cause he said she was "a bitch with no heart that didn't deserve a guy like him"."

"Wow, conceited much?" Angel asked with a slight laugh.

"You've seen what she does." Jack said pointing at Quinn.

"Right," Bobby said shaking his head. "So why does this Cicily have it out for you?"

"Because her boyfriend and I hang out at lunch so she thinks the reason he broke up with her is because he's really in love with me and I told him to break up with her, even though the only times we ever talk are during lunch; and that's just because him and Jack are friends." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Huh…" Angel said.

"That and I think she's always had it out for me."

"Why would she have it out for you? What did you push her down on the play ground?" Bobby scoffed.

Quinn shook her head. "Apparently this guy," she pointed at Jack, "is "one fine piece of ass" that Cicily has had her eyes on for a long time, and when I came in and hung out with him all the time, she suddenly saw me as an enemy. Even after she got a boyfriend, she's still got something against me. But there could be other reasons."

"She does know that we're siblings, right?" Jack asked with a quizzically look.

Quinn just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, what do you want us to do about this?" Angel asked, bouncing slightly on his heels, grinning.

"Nothing!" She said louder than she meant to. "I don't want you doing anything! I will deal with this! My OWN way." She said sitting up. "But you could get me some ice, my head really hurts." She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What happened to your head…other than the obvious?" Bobby asked, rubbing the crown of her head.

"You threw me into the bathroom wall when you barged through the door," she said with a yawn. "And I think the head trauma is making me tired."

"You did what?" Jack asked, giving his brother an incredulous look.

"Well...she was hiding something from me! And then tried to lock me out, and slammed my foot in the door!" Bobby said defensively.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bobby," Quinn said, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She smiled and walked past him into the kitchen. "Hey, can we not tell Jerry about this?" she asked, sticking her head in the fridge, rummaging for something to munch on. She grabbed an orange and an ice pack from the freezer and plunked down at the table.

"I think he'll figure something's up when he comes home and sees that you're bald." Jack laughed, sitting beside her.

"I'm not bald." She retorted, peeling her orange.

"Nah, but they sure did hack away at your hair." Bobby said, running his fingers through her now short hair. "We should probably fix that. Can't have you walking around looking like you were attacked by a weed whacker."

"Hey ya'll, Sofi could cut it for you." Angel said, sitting across from Quinn.

Jack and Bobby both groaned, Bobby considerably louder than Jack. "There is no way in hell La Vida Loca is touching a single hair on my baby sister's head!" he said, grabbing a beer from the fridge; the one in the bathroom forgotten.

"I'm not a baby, Bobby. Plus what's the worse she can do? I'm basically bald anyways, right?" Quinn said, shoving a piece of orange in her mouth, and cringed. She spat it back out into her palm. "It's really sour." She said and walked over to the sink to rinse her hand off. "Hey, Bobby," she said looking at her palm. "That stupid scar never did go away." She rubbed her hand gingerly.

"Really?" he asked coming over. He grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb over the scar that stretched from between her thumb and pointer to the opposite bottom corner. "Huh, doctor probably stitched it wrong."

She giggled, "Maybe," she said sliding her hand out of his. "Anyways, Angel when can Sofi cut my hair?"

"I'll give her a call." He said and grabbed the phone before leaving the room.

"I said she's not cutting your hair!" Bobby said, taking a swig of his beer.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "If you want, you can hold my hand while I get it done. Or fork over the money to go get it cut professionally. Or you can let me walk around looking like this," she twirled around on her toes.

Bobby sighed, "Fine you win, but you got to tell Jerry what happened, and let me watch!" he said with a smirk.

"Oooh, you get to watch Jerry express their love and concern; that must be a big moment for you." She poked him in the side, causing him to twitch violently to the side. Jack laughed from the table.

"Shut up you little techie, go make out with your computer!" he shot back.

"You're just mad because all you can figure out how to do on a computer is play checkers, and you lost to the computer; it was even on the easiest setting! So don't make fun of me because I know how to make the computer work for me and you can't even manage a child's game!"

"Checkers isn't a child's game." He gave her a 'you're-stupid' look.

"I learned how to play it when I was five." She said holding up five fingers.

"And that was like, what, two weeks ago?" Bobby said sitting across from Jack at the table, propping his feet up on a chair.

"Oh you're clever." She stuck her tongue out at him. He simply smirked and stuck his out back. "You really are a prick sometimes Bobby."

"Yes, yes I am." He smirked while drinking his beer.

"What do you think there, Jackie, is he compensating for something?" She said, resting against Jack.

Jack laughed and nodded, which caused Bobby to growl. "Shut up you little fairy." He muttered.

"Oh, if you're going to be a dick, go pull a condom over your head so at least you look like one!" she shot back, before running out of the room as Bobby lurched out of his chair at her.

He caught her around the waist, and gently picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. She squealed loudly as he began spinning. "Let's see you be a smart ass now!" he challenged as he continued to spin.

"Bobby, put me down! Stop Bobby, you're going to hurt my ribs!" She laughed as she got dizzier and dizzier.

"What's wrong with your ribs?" Jerry's voice broke through Quinn and Bobby's laughter. Bobby stopped spinning immediately and set Quinn down, holding her shoulders so she didn't tip over.

"Ribs? What ribs? Are we having ribs for dinner?" Quinn dodged. Bobby rolled his eyes and poked her in the side, making her wince and twitch to the side. "Oh my ribs…" she said, suddenly remembering. "They were, uhm…" she paused as Jerry hung up his coat.

"Go on," he said, turning back to her.

"Well, there's this girl, at school, and she kind of…has it out for me so she and her gang cornered me after school and beat the crap out of me and cut off my hair…hence the new look…" She clasped her hands in front of her and bounced on her feet.

"They did what?" Jerry bellowed. "Who in the hell did this? I'm going to call my lawyer."

Quinn sighed and covered her face with her hand, sliding it down as she rolled her eyes. She could hear Bobby chuckling behind her, no doubt enjoying every minute of agony this was going to cause her in the long run. She glanced sideways at him, glaring, and elbowed him in the gut. It caused him minimal pain, and her only reward was a slight 'oof' sound as her elbow and his gut connected; otherwise she had not succeeded in any way.

"Jerry, you really don't need to do that. I'm fine, honestly, and they were just mad because….well I don't know why, but I'm fine." She tried to reason with him.

In the end, the entire incident ended with a huge meeting between parents, guardians, brothers, and the principal. Cicily palmer had never forgiven Quinn, nor forgotten; and took every chance she could to cause Quinn discomfort in her school. It was lovely, really.

Quinn shook her head, thinking about that day. It really wasn't one of her most favourite.

"Yeah, the combined forces of Bobby and Jerry did end up being a bit much, hey?" Jack asked with a laugh.

Quinn just rolled her eyes. "Yee-up." She nodded.

The two laughed light heartedly as they continued their walk.

Without warning, a car came careening out of seemingly nowhere and pulled up onto the sidewalk in front of the two. Quinn narrowly missed being hit as Jack grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. She stared at the car in bewilderment; the driver had most definitely tried to hit her.

"Thanks," she said to Jack, heart pounding.

"Yeah," he said, eyes fixed on the car.

The doors to the jet black car swung open, and a pair of legs swung out, high heels clicking on the pavement when they connect.

"Mercer," a falsetto voice chimed; generously laced with venom.

"Not today," Quinn grumbled as the person emerged fully from the car.

* * *

If you find any spelling/grammar/typos please feel free to let me know in the reviews! Some manage to slip through the cracks, so please do inform me if you find any and I will fix them ASAP. Thanks!

Yorkie-s


	3. Chapter 3

Quinn sighed as Cicily clicked her way over to the pair. Today was rapidly going from stellar, to less than spectacular; and she was so looking forward to not having to think about stupid people today. Cicily stood in front of them, eyes blazing with blond furry; bleached, and very, very fake tanned - almost orange. She gave them a menacing look, which Quinn had to work very hard not to laugh out loud at.

"Palmer," Quinn addressed her.

"I happen to have it on good authority," The girl started, raising her hands to inspect her nails in blatant disregard for nearly hitting the pair. "That you helped out that punk from yesterday." She lowered her hand and placed both hands on her tiny hips.

Quinn arched an eyebrow. "Do you now? Did your alien friends in the mother ship tell you that? Or did you tiny brain come to that conclusion all on its own?"

Cicily gave a small snarl; yes a snarl. "The hospital contacted the school to report on his condition and a 'suspected act of severe bullying' after which the school contacted Styxx to see if he knew anything about it."

"Okay, it wasn't a 'suspected' act, it _was_ an act. Big difference." Quinn said, rolling her eyes at the girl.

Cicily turned her full attention to the girl, steadying her 'menacing' glare on her.

"You better watch your back, Mercer." She said, folding her arms under her bust.

Quinn sighed, "Or what? You'll spread a rumor about me while I'm not looking? Oh please, no! Not that! Anything but that!" She faked a scared looking, forcing her eyes to well up.

Cicily advanced towards the girl and stopped inches from her. Quinn merely tilted her chin towards the blond. She always seemed to be looking for conflict; always looking for someone to pick a fight with, or pick on. Quinn, on the other hand, was always looking for a way to avoid it! She was content being the only Mercer who wasn't known for bashing in skulls with hockey sticks. Or not being known as a Mercer; at least in school.

She could feel Jack stir beside her, ready to hold the girl back if something were to go down.

"I may just make you eat those words, bitch." Cicily spat, obviously proud over her wit and charm.

Quinn simply grinned, "I'll be sure to skip breakfast that day."

With that, Cicily turned on her pointy heels, climbed back into her car, and started it up. The vehicle clunked loudly off the curb and vroomed away. No doubt she was driving Daddy's car; very poorly driving Daddy's car.

"Some days, I really just regret getting up." She sighed, turning to Jack.

"Some days," He said, placing a hand on the top of her head, "I really regret you getting up, too."

Quinn gave a half laugh, punching him playfully in the gut. He just smirked, and the pair continued their journey together. Quinn was eager to forget about school, and Cicily, for at least the rest of the day before having to face it all again the next day.

* * *

Sunlight; why did mornings always have to start with sunlight? It was bright, and burning, and bright.

With a muffled grumble, Quinn rolled out of her bed, grabbed her towel off the post of her bed, and made a crooked line to the bathroom. She had to be quick before Bobby woke up and decided that it was his turn to use the bathroom. He was usually a grump in the morning; and it was annoying. She took a quick shower, jumped out, got dressed, and was beginning to apply makeup when she heard Bobby. She couldn't have been in there more than fifteen minutes! She had gotten really good at getting ready in a very short amount of time.

"Hey Techie! Are you done in their yet? Come on! Your laptop doesn't care what you look like!" Bobby yelled, pounding on the bathroom door impatiently.

Quinn rolled her eyes as she finished applying eye shadow and situating her blue framed glasses on the bridge of her nose. She wasn't particularly fond of the nickname her brothers had given her, but she didn't hate it either. Much to their amusement, she had started responding to the name just like she would respond to her own name; it was now, sadly, a force of habit.

"Techie, if you don't get the fuck out of the bathroom in the next sixty seconds I swear to God, I am going to kick your ass! I don't care that you're a girl!" Bobby began pounding again, giving Quinn a headache.

She opened the door, and managed to just miss getting run over by Bobby as he pushed her out the door and shut it behind him. He was such a child some days. Everything had to be in his time, or everyone would suffer; and suffer she had sometimes. He was a hot head, but she loved him. She kind of had to, him being her brother and all; but she probably would have loved him even if he wasn't. That was the tricky thing about Bobby. He was about as cuddly as a porcupine, but he had a face that was just so cute and adorable, she couldn't help but love him. Though she would never, ever, tell him that was how she described him; he would most likely shmush her.

"Bobby, hurry up! We're going to be late!" Quinn said knocking on the bathroom door. She heard a stream of curses that were jarbled by the sound of the shower and Bobby knocking over the bottle of shampoo. She giggled to herself and walked into the room her. She walked over to her laptop and closed the few windows she had opened and quickly saved the documents she had been working on and shut it down. She had been taking a digital arts course in school and she had an independent assignment, which gave her free range to do or make whatever she liked with the skills they had been taught this last quarter.

"Quinnie! Where are my jeans?" Jack yelled from down the hall.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Which ones?"

"The blue ones!"

"Thanks genius! You only have about four blue ones! Are they the levi's, the white washed ones..?"

"They have that rip in the knees and right below the pocket!"

"They're in the laundry room downstairs, hung up above the dryer!"

"Thanks!" he yelled in response as he ran down the stairs.

"Uh huh," she mumbled as she put her text book and binder in her black backpack that had a white sketch of Jack Skellington on the back. She shoved her pencil case in, zipped it up, and flipped off the light before heading downstairs. Angel had breakfast ready, and a brown paper bag stuffed with food sitting next to her plate at the table. Quinn smiled as she grabbed it and stuffed it in her bag before sitting down.

"Thanks," she said and started eating the eggs.

"Sure," Angel said, grabbing his own plate and sitting down across from her. "How did that thing you were freaking out over last night go?" He asked, taking a big bite of eggs.

Quinn sighed, "Didn't get as much done as I would have liked. Bobby wouldn't stop…I don't even know what he was doing actually." She sighed and took another bite.

Angel just laughed, remembering the night before. Bobby had been goofing around and making weird noises and generally just being a pain to bug Quinn.

"Some days I wonder about him." Quinn said with a laugh.

"Yeah, we all do." Angel smirked. "But he cares, yah know?"

"Uh huh, cares; right."

"Oh, of course I care about you!" Bobby said coming in the room and wrapping his big arms around Quinn's head in a tight hug.

"Air!" she managed to muffle out through the sleeves of his sweater. He laughed and let go. "Gross, now I smell like I was messing around with a boy before school; thank you, Bobby." She said smelling herself. "And, yeah, no I really didn't actually like how my hair looked today, so thanks for fixing that for me!" she said holding up both thumbs.

"Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?" Bobby asked grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and toast.

"You kept me up all night with your snoring and sleep…hunting or whatever it is you dream about. I could hear you all the way in my room. My digital arts project is doing weird things and I can't figure out why, I'm having a fat day, I ran out of cover up, I hate the way I look right now, and I think I'm coming down with something cause I really want to puke right now. But that could also be because you just rubbed your man stink all over me and tried to suffocate me." She said and pushed back her plate of food and laid her cheek on her arms on the table.

Angel came over and placed her hand on her forehead. "You do feel a little warm…" he said, his brow creasing slightly.

"I'm fine, just tired." Quinn said with a yawn.

Jack bounded into the kitchen then and sat down next to her, laying his head beside hers on the table and staring at her face. "Someone didn't get enough sleep last night." He crooned in a sing song voice.

"Someone's about to get their nose bitten off." She crooned back with a small smile.

Jack laughed and stood up, "You ready to go Bobby? We're going to be late."

"I've been ready for a long time now you little fairy. What have you been doing? Brushing your hair?" Bobby said ruffling up his baby brother's hair.

"Hey, breakfast?" Angel called after them.

"All good!" they said in unison; grabbed the toast off Quinn's plate and headed towards the door.

"Jack forgot his lunch!" Angel yelled, heading towards the living room.

Quinn grabbed the bag from the counter. "Have a good day Angel!" she said and grabbed her bag and sweater and ran out to the car, her shoes also in her hands. Bobby was honking the horn like a mad man so she didn't bother to stop to put on her shoes. It was the end of April and was starting to warm up, which Quinn was glad about.

When she got to the car, she tossed Jack his lunch, who was in the back seat, dropped her bag on the floor of the car and slid in, slamming the door behind her.

"Where are your shoes?" Bobby asked, flying out of the drive way and on to the road, sending Quinn, who was struggling to get her seatbelt on, flying around her seat. "Put your seat belt on silly girl, you trying to get yourself killed?" Bobby said smugly.

"Learn how to drive, old man, you trying to get us all killed?" she retorted as she clicked her seat belt into place, then worked on getting her shoes on.

Bobby just glared at her, causing her and Jack to laugh. "You want to walk to school, stupid little Techie? Maybe get picked up by some sugar daddy? Huh?" he said, taking a corner sharper then he meant to.

"It would probably be safer. And what kid doesn't like candy?" She said with a smile, knowing Bobby's threats were hollow. "How do you think mom got me to come inside my first day?"

Bobby laughed, "Yeah you were a big ball of nerves weren't you?"

"Yeah, I remember Bobby making you cry your first night, saying that he would eat you if you did anything to annoy him. You sobbed so hard you were hiccupping." Jack said with a grin, poking Bobby in the arm.

Quinn grinned, "I'd always heard the Michigan Mauler ate babies, now I know it's true."

Bobby rolled his eyes, "Alright you kids, get outta my car and get to class." He said pulling up in front of the school's doors.

Quinn smiled and pushed open the door before sliding out, flipping the seat forward for Jack. She gave a small wave and turned, listening as Bobby screeched away, and faced her least favourite place in the world, school; yippee.

"Well, see you at lunch." Jack said, patting her on the back before hopping up the front steps.

"Lunch…but we have the first two classes together…" Quinn called after him.

She could hear Jack laugh as he turned around, "Damn, Techie, you sure do make it hard to skip. It's like having Bobby here with us." He smiled widely at her.

"Well I do pride myself in being like him." Quinn said, walking up the steps and standing beside him. "Now, shall we skip to class today, or do the 'cool' Mercer walk thing where we know we are too cool for this school?" She asked, shoving her hands into her pockets and leaning back slightly.

Jack grinned, "Gotta hold up Bobby's rep." he said with a shrug. With that, they both began their saunter towards homeroom.

They had only gotten halfway to their homeroom, when Quinn was body checked into a locker and a hand slammed on the lockers beside her head. She winced slightly, but quickly regained composure as she started down her opponent.

"Quinn, what an awful privilege it is to be so close to you, right now." Tanis Chambers grinned widely, maliciously. He was Quinn's least favourite person, in her least favourite place. He was in the art club with her, and he loathed her, for whatever reason his tiny little brain could come up with. She and he had been butting heads since day one when their teacher had placed them in a group together and they both wanted to go in very different directions with said project. Regardless of all of Quinn's efforts to avoid him, he sought her out and was relentless in trying to annoy her out of the art club.

"Tanis," Quinn said dryly, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "To what do I owe this…travesty?"

He merely grinned and leaned in closer. "Isn't it obvious? I want to seduce you and make you fall madly in love with me, get married, and have a litter of fat babies and live happily ever after." He flashed his brilliant smile.

Tanis, as much as Quinn hated to admit it, was actually really good looking, and she flushed that first time they were going to work together; then she got to know him. Crush demolished. That, however, did not prevent him from trying to use his good looks against her any chance he could. He was somewhere between a young Jude Law and a Matt Lanter, and quite easy on the eyes; when she looked past the nauseating feeling he left in her stomach. If only he wasn't such a dick, she might actually like him.

"Hey, buds," Jack tapped Tanis on the shoulder. Tannis grinned and winked at Quinn before removing his hand from the locker and turning to Jack.

"Hey, man," he said, giving Jack a friendly smile.

"Yeah hi, so, uhh, wanna not do that to her? That whole, attack and creep on and seduce…thing." Jack crossed his arms across his chest, towering over Tannis.

Tanis merely grinned, nodding his head. "Yeah man, no problem. See you in third period." He said, pointing a finger at Quinn and walked away.

She inhaled deeply and pushed away from the lockers, continuing her walk with Jack to homeroom. She shook her head, trying to get the smell of his cologne out of her nose, annoyed that she enjoyed the smell; stupid Tanis, stupid Tanis and his stupid smell and stupid smile.

She had just began walking towards her class, again, when another voice bellowed over the hum of the student body.

"Tregan!"

Whoop-dee-fricken-woo.

Quinn turned, again, and stared down her next opponent. Today was turning out great; and it all started with sunlight. Curses.

"Yes, your tight-ass?" she forced a smile, pleased that it looked as strained as it felt.

"What did you call me?" Styxx growled, advancing on her.

"Sorry, I meant 'highness'; my bad."

"You better be sorry! I know what you did yesterday." He stopped a foot in front of her, towering over her. Quinn guessed he was going for menacing and imposing; he was really just a talking skyscraper.

"You know what I did yesterday?" She said, scratching her temple. "You taken up stalking, Styxx?"

"That's 'king' to you, peasant." His eyes blazed with pent up anger.

"We got a problem here?" Jack asked, stepping between the two.

"No problem, Mercer. Why don't you go scribble some nudie pictures on a bathroom stall? This has nothing to do with you." He shot a glance a Jack.

"I think it does." Jack said, putting his hands in his pocket and standing up taller.

"Oh, and why is that? You dating this cow?" Styxx nodded towards Quinn.

Jack pulled his right hand out of his pocket, and would have hit Styxx, if Quinn hadn't stepped in.

"Friends, Styxx, we're friends. You know, people who like you? Something you've never had?"

"You little," He pulled back, intending to hit her, when a teacher walked by. A smile was instantly plastered on his face as he slipped into his 'model student' façade. "The science lab is just down the hall. Please, feel free to come to me if you need anything else." He clapped Jack on the shoulder. The teacher vanished around the courner. "Watch your back, Tregan, Mercer." With that, he turned and stalked away.

The pair watched him walk away before Jack turned to Quinn.

"Tregan?" he arched an eye brow.

"I gotta go to class." Quinn tried to move past him, but he caught her arm.

"You're not going anywhere. Tregan?" he asked again.

"Middle name, can I go now?"

"No. I want to know why he called you by your 'middle name'."

"Because…"

"Because why?"

Quinn's foot bounced; she was beginning to not like where this conversation was headed.

"Just…because." She said again.

"Quinn!"

"I'm late for class!" she tried to tug free, but Jack refused to let up.

"Why did he call you Tregan!"

"Because that's what I'm listed as on the attendance!" she practically yelled.

Jack looked shocked as he stared at his sister. Quinn opened her mouth to say more, but thought better of it and snapped it shut again. This was the exact conversations she was hoping she would never have to have; ever.

"Why Tregan?" He asked.

"What?" She asked, looking at his eyes; big mistake. They were whirlwinds of different emotions; thoughts and feelings swirling around. This was quickly going downhill.

"Why, Tregan?" He said again, more serious than before.

Quinn shuffled nervously.

"Answer me!" He yelled, giving her arm a good shake. She'd really done it this time; she knew it.

A teacher poked his head out of his classroom, looking at the two Mercers in the hallway. He ventured toward the pair, adjusting the wire brim glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

"No problem." Was all Jack said, giving the him a stern look. The teacher stammered out a response before returning to his class. Jack had these 'magical' powers of persuasion that he, no doubt, learnt from Bobby. Not even teachers messed with him anymore.

"You. Answer. Now!" He turned his full attention back to Quinn.

"Because…I didn't want anyone to know…" she dropped her head, staring intently at her shoes.

"Know what?" He stooped to look into her face.

"That…I was a Mercer…" she mumbled, turning away from him.

"What..?" he asked, bewildered.

"Let me explain I was jus-" He cut her off.

"Explain what? That you're embarrassed of your brothers? That you don't want to be known as a Mercer? Yes, please do explain, 'cause, quite frankly, I'm a little bit confused here Quinn!"

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing would come out.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Jack shoved her arm away before turning, and heading towards the front door.

"Jack, wait. Wait!" she called after him.

He didn't stop.

* * *

Happy readings! Sorry for the wait! Yorkie-S xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't see Jack for the rest of the day. After our fight that morning, I doubted I would 'see' him for the rest of the day. No doubt a good, old school silent treatment was waiting for me at home. I guess I kind of deserved it. I should have known this would come around to bite me in the ass eventually; and rightly so. It was a dick move, changing my last name. It was a huge slap in the face for my brothers too; who, undoubtedly, would know about it even before I got home.

Good day.

I sat on the front steps of the school, waiting for my ride. Bobby needed the car today for something, and had promised that he would come pick me and Jack up from school at noon. I hoped that he would be true to his word, and hadn't forgotten.

My bag felt like it weighed a ton, my laptop being the prime culprit. I also had a butt load of textbooks, notebooks, binders, and other school related paraphernalia inside it. I was surprised the bag had held up as well as it did. I sure had put it through hell, and then some; on many occasions it had substituted for a purse, pool bag, camping bag, and sleep over bag, and the list could go on. I should really treat it better; not like I have the money t go out and buy a new one.

I noticed how cold it was outside; my backside freezing to the pavement as I waited. Bobby sure was taking his sweet time. I had worn thin clothing, knowing I would be getting a ride. I checked my watch again, for the umpteenth time. It was half past noon now. He was an hour late, so far. One hour slowly began to drag into two, then a half. Where the hell could he be? Didn't he get that I was freezing my ass off out here?

I was about to plug my headphones into my Ipod, when I heard the familiar screech of tires coming towards me. I lifted my head to see Bobby pulling up to the front of the school. With a deep sigh, I got up and walked towards the car; hoping Jack hadn't told him yet.

* * *

Quinn hopped over a slush puddle as she got closer to the car. The passenger window was cracked open and Bobby was thrumming his fingers on the dash. This was probably not a good sign. Quinn reached for the handle to pull open the door, but it was locked. Confused, she knocked on the window to get Bobby's attention. He rolled his head to look at her, eyes hard.

"Yes?" he drawled.

Quinn swallowed – definitely not good. "Doors locked." She said, pointing to the door.

"Yes. And your point is?"

He knew.

"Can you…unlock it?" she asked timidly.

He paused, looking thoughtful. "No." came the quick response.

"What?" she almost stammered.

"See, I only drive family. And, to be family, you gotta be a Mercer. Seeing as you're not a Mercer, Tregan," he spat the name, "I can't drive you home. Step back."

With that, he gave the engine a good kick and sped away. Quinn jumped back, but not before the wheels hit a large puddle, coating her in a nice layer of slush. Terrific. Quinn raised her hand and wiped the dirty slush off he face; today would soon, officially, the worst day of her life. No doubt the news had reached Jerry tool and Angel wo9uld be oh so eager to go along with whatever Bobby had in store for her when she got home. Yup, good day.

With a large sigh, she began the long walk home. It was cold, and even more so now that she was covered in muck and filth; but, again, she really did deserve this. Worse, even. If this was all she got, she would be lucky. Taking into consideration, though, who her brothers were this was not all she was going to get. That worried her a little. Her mind went wild the entire, miserable, walk home; concocting all sorts of terrible things they could do to her. By the time she actually reached home, she had considered turning around and sleeping in the school more than once.

Tentatively, she reached for the door knob; acting as if it would bite her hand off. She gave it a turn, and slowly pushed the door open, venturing in. The house was quiet, very quiet. Too quiet. Normally, it would be buzzing with activity; rough housing, music drinking, yelling, cursing, none of this was to be heard as Quinn walked it. She was unsure if this was a good sign or not.

Kicking off her shoes, she went straight for the stairs and headed to her room. Once there, she eased open the door; no one. Brushing the hair from her face, she dropped her bag on her bed, grabbed a towel, and went to wash the filth off of her. Testing the water beforehand, she quickly undressed, and got it. The hot water felt good after the long walk in the cold; being wet and all. Her toes had gone numb and the hot water made them tingle; but it was a good tingle. She took her time, and, during her rinse off, thought she could hear people downstairs, but decided to not concentrate on that.

When she was done, she hopped out, grabbed her towel and briskly walked to her room; where she dropped her towel and threw on some sweats. She was just finishing towel drying her hair and pulling it back into a messy bun, when Jack walked in. His expression was all kinds of unhappy. Quinn swallowed hard, but continued on with what she was doing.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"…What?" she turned her head towards him; completely confused.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" he reiterated, very bluntly.

Quinn just stared at him, really confused. This was what she was worried about would begin.

"I don't understand…"

"This is the Mercer house." He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe.

"I was aware." She said bending over to pull on her booty slippers.

"That's good; because, I have it on good authority that you aren't a Mercer."

She sat up straight, not looking at him. This was going somewhere she didn't like.

"So, seeing as you aren't a Mercer, this, right here," He moved his finger in a small circle around the room. "Would be a 'breaking and entering' situation, now wouldn't it?"

Quinn swallowed, he didn't really mean that? "You can't be serious." She could feel here eyes getting bigger.

"Oh but I do. Right Bobby?" He called over his shoulder.

"I would have to agree with you, little brother." Bobby said, walking into the room.

Quinn stood abruptly. "You guys really can't be serious!" she shook her head. This was going to far!

"Couldn't be more serious, Tregan." Angel spat, coming up behind the other two.

Quinn nodded; saw that one coming. "Yeah. So, where do we go from here?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well," Bobby walked towards her, rubbing his chin with one hand. "Most people would phone the cops, you know, to report the break in and all." He walked in a slow circle around her. This was the 'worse' she had been dreading on the walk home; and it could only _get_ worse from here. "But," He continued. "Seeing as we aren't 'most people', I think we can handle this _incident_ by ourselves. Right boys?" He addressed the other two.

Quinn closed her eyes; yup, this was gonna go bad for her. Before she could even think of protesting, Bobby grabbed her by the waist and hauled her out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Quinn, alarmed, pounded on Bobby's back, telling him to put her down and to stop what he was doing. He did put her down, but not where she wanted him too. The next thing she knew, she was being dumped in a snow bank in the front yard; her brothers looming over her on the stoop.

"This is ridiculous!" She yelled, trying to pull herself out of the heap.

Bobby scoffed. "No, Quinn. This is retribution." With that, the trio walked back in the house, the lock clicking audibly behind them.

Terrific.

Quinn, once again, found herself, cold, wet, and alone. She really had messed things up.

* * *

"Got it, mum! Be back soon." Esca called over his shoulder as he walked down the front steps of his house.

His mom had him running to the store for milk; again. His younger sister sure could go through a carton fast. She, being the baby and as adorable as she was, could get away with it, too. Esca didn't mind though, he was happy to do it. He liked the winter weather. It was refreshing when he breathed in the cool air, and a good chance for him to clear his head and not need to think.

He had hardly gotten two blocks from home, when he saw something strange. A girl, sitting in a snow pile, wearing only sweats. As he got closer, he noticed that her hair was soaked, and she looked like she was about to cry; and very cold. Unsure as to proper procedure for situations such as these, he cautiously approached her; making sure that, if she should not need his assistance, it looked as if he was merely passing by. When he was a few feet from her, he pulled up short. He knew her.

"Quinn?" he asked.

Her head snapped up, staring intently at him. "Yes...?"

Esca stood dumbfounded, baffled that he had actually said anything. His mouth was slightly agape as he stared at the girl sitting in the snow bank; and she likewise.

"_Say something, you idiot!" _he thought embarrassedly. "….hi." he gave a small wave.

"Hi…" she returned the wave. "Do…I know you?" She pointed at him.

"Me, oh, yes…well, no…but yes." He rambled on. He gave himself a mental kick. "We had math, history, and English together."

"Oh," He could see her mentally searching her memory for any trace of him. "I'm sorry, right, hi. How are you?" she pulled herself out of the snow bank, rubbing her hands together under her chin.

"You don't know who I am." He gave a small smile, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

She gave a half smile. "Guilty as charged." She sniffed loudly.

"Oh, my god, you must be freezing." He clued in suddenly. "Are you…locked out?" he took a few steps towards her.

She nodded, looking down at her feet than back at the door. "Yeah…uh, problems with home…I guess."

"Oh, I'm sorry, terribly rude of me." He watched her bounce in the cold.

"No, no it's not your fault. I'm the lunatic sitting in the snow bank." She looked at him, smiling. She sniffed again, then turned away and sneezed.

Esca quickly undid his coat, slipped it off and handed it too her. She looked at him, then the jacket, then back at him; shock and confusion flooding her face.

"Oh, I'm good, thanks." She tried to decline.

"No you're not. Take it." He said, refusing her answer.

Her face lit up with a warm smile. "Thank you…"

"Esca, Esca Regan."

Her smile grew, "Thank you Esca. I'm Quinn…Mercer."

"Pleasure," he extended his hand to shake her. "You're hands are freezing!" he exclaimed, shocked. "You'll catch your death at this rate." With that, he grabbed the coat from her, wrapped it around her shoulders, and pulled her in close to him.

Quinn went stiff, unsure of what he was doing, and what she should do in response. She couldn't help but like the way it felt to be tucked away in his arms. It was comforting, and he smelt good. She was very close to very much enjoying it, when Esca cleared his throat. She could feel him go rigid.

"This was very awkward and sudden of me; wasn't it?" he stammered slightly.

"Little bit." Quinn nodded.

"Sorry!" he let go quickly, stepping back. He could feel his face get warmer. That was very out of character for him, and he was having a hard time trying to understand his sudden urge to hold her.

Quinn giggled, "It's okay."

Esca smiled back. "So, you out here for a while?"

"Why? You asking me out?" she gave a coy smile.

"That all depends." He arched an eyebrow, returning her smile.

"Depends on what?" she ginned, pulling the coat on properly.

"If you don't mind shopping, for milk at the local grocery store?"

"Oh, try and hold me back." She laughed, doing up the zipper for emphasis.

Esca laughed. "My lady," he offered his arm.

"Kind sir." She gave a small curtsy before accepting it.

The two made a quaint pair as they paraded down the street; he in a t-shirt and cardigan, and she in booty slippers and oversized coat.

* * *

"So tell me about yourself," Esca said as the two walked down the sidewalk. They had just finished at the store, and were on their way back.

"What do you want to know?" she looked up at him.

Quinn found it odd; she had only just met this boy, and she already felt so comfortable with him. This was very odd. She normally would avoid meeting people at all cost; especially ones from school. She liked this one though. He was alright.

"Anything," he said. "What makes Miss Quinn tick?" he flashed her a brilliant smile.

She returned it. "Well, I'm adopted." She began.

"I'm so sorry." His brow creased.

"Don't be," she shook her head. "It was a good thing. My birth mother…she…wasn't well; in many ways. Adoption was a good thing for me."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement. "What else? Well…my adoptive mother was passed away last year, so it's just me and my brothers now." She gave a half laugh. "Don't be sorry." She said, seeing his face fall. "It was hard at first, but we got through it, together. I think it brought us closer together; as siblings, yah no?"

Esca nodded. "I do. My dad passed away three years ago."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. It was hard at first. We had just moved from Scotland a few years earlier, so it was a big hit on my mum and sister. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without them."

Quinn nodded.

Esca suddenly came up short. "That's weird…"

"What is it?" Quinn asked, turning to face him.

He shook his head. "It's just…I don't usually talk about my dad with…anybody."

Quinn nodded, "Yeah, I don't usually talk about me…ever." She realized.

Esca looked up at her and smiled. "well, guess you know what that means, eh?"

Quinn shook her head, "Can't say that I do."

Esca walked over to her. "It means, we were meant to be friends." Quinn gave a half laugh. "Or," he said continuing up the sidewalk. "You have bewitched me with your 'magical' powers."

"Damn, you've figured it out!" Quinn exclaimed, catching up with him.

Esca laughed; there was something he liked about this girl.

"You know," Quinn started. "There was something that I really liked about you; something that drew me in when you introduced yourself."

"Oh really?" he laughed. "And what was that? My rugged good looks, or my charming accent?" he gave a smirk.

"Nope, neither of those." She said, very seriously.

"What was it then?"

"Your coat,"

"My coat?"

"Yup, I saw it and knew I had to have it." She gave him a grin. "And I knew you would never be able to resist a girl in sweats and slippers sitting in a snow pile."

"You have me all figured out now, don't you?"

"Magical powers." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Right, I forgot about those." Esca laughed.

The pair reached Quinn's house, and stopped at the edge of the front yard.

"So, do you think your house has worked out its problems yet?" Esca asked, watching Quinn.

Quinn was staring at the front window. She could see one of her brothers peeking out the window, and slide it shut when they saw her watching. With a deep sigh, Quinn turned back to Esca.

"Afraid not," she gave a tight smile.

"Well," Esca started. He could feel his face flushing again. What was he doing? He had only just met this girl, and he had already divulged his life story to her; and now he was thinking of asking her…

"You could come to my house…?"

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"I said, 'you could come to my house'…if you wanted…yah no…" His ears were burning.

Quinn could feel her face go bright red. What was she doing? She had only just met this guy, and divulged her life story to him; and now she was considering accepting…

"I'd love too…"

"What?"

"Yes, I mean, sure…sounds like fun."

"Great," he smiled, ears still red.

"Awesome," she smiled, face still burning.

With that, the pair continued down the sidewalk, awkwardly walking side by side.

* * *

Yes, I did just watch The Eagle. Yes i did fall in love with it. Yes I do have a thing for Esca. No that's not the only reason i chose the name. XD

Well, there you have it! Chapter 4! Very happy with this one, personally. Hope you all like it too!

Yorkies xoxo


	5. Chapter 5

This is chapter 5.5 I wanted it to be longer, but it's been a hell of a long time since I last posted. I will add more at a (hopefully sooner) later date.

* * *

Quinn stood in the doorway of Esca's room, wearing one of his t-shirts and pair of cut-off sweats. She felt a little awkward, being in his clothes, and his house, and his room. This was the first time she had been in a boy's room; other than her brothers, and she was more nervous than she had ever been in her life. She watched as Esca moved around the room, tidying up the many clothes and books and papers that littered his bedroom floor; kicking things under the bed, and banging the closet door closed. Quinn covered her mouth with her hand, hiding a giggle.

"It's really okay. There's no one here to impress." She said, taking a half step into his room.

Esca turned to her and gave a small laugh. "Sorry, my mum raised me to be a good host." He grinned sheepishly.

"Fair enough," She said with a nod, venturing further into the room.

He watched as she looked around, eyeing up the random objects he had scattered on his desk and shelves. She wandered over to his book shelf and ran her fingers over the spines of the books. He watched as she carefully read each title, seeming to memorize each one, and smiling when she came across one that she seemed too know. He couldn't help but smile, enjoying watching her lightly explore his room; getting used to the new environment. Quietly, he walked over, standing behind her. She was too intrigued by his small library to notice him standing right behind her. He breathed in, the smell of her shampoo filling his nostrils and overwhelming his senses; raspberries. He watched as her finger traced the books, and as she tilted her head to the side to read the titles. She breathed in, beginning to turn around. Snapping back to reality, Esca jumped back three feet; widening the gap between the two. She turned and faced him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You like reading, I gather?" she said, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Esca nodded, shuffling his feet sheepishly. "Yeah, my dad used to read to me a lot when I was young. He and I would go to these old book stores all over, collecting old classics, and finding new books to add to our growing collection." He smiled, his mind miles away from his room. "It's one of my favourite memories of me and my dad."

Quinn smiled, watching his face light as he spoke about his dad. She envied him. She was more than grateful for the family she had now; she knew she was less than deserving for everything she had been blessed with. Her bio-mom had been…less than what a mother should have been; and she never got the chance to know her dad. Her bio-mom would go off on drunken raves about how he had abandoned them a few months before Quinn was born.

"You should have had an abortion months ago!" he would scream, throwing what ever drink he would be holding.

"You ass-hole! You did this to me!" she would scream back, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's too late! My parents already know! I can't get rid of it now!"

"And whose fault is that, bitch?"

Quinn had heard the story countless times. Every time, cutting old wounds deeper and deeper, until they had almost cut clean through her. She envied Esca. She envied the look of love he had, the feelings of love he carried, the family he had that loved him; the mother, the father that _wanted_ him. That _loved_ him, and had _planned_ him. A mother that had lovingly carried him for nine months, and, each day, would look down at the bulge that protruded from her abdomen and think "I can't wait to meet you." He had a father who had raised him proudly and taught him and wanted him safe, and close; and who wanted to love him and get to know him. Yes, she envied him.

"I miss him." Esca said; bringing her back to the room with the boy she had just met.

"I know." She said, taking a tentative step towards him.

He raised his head and looked at her. He could see something, something so strange and foreign in her blue-green eyes. Something he had never seen before. Something so sad, he momentarily forgot all his pain, all his sadness, and stared into the eyes of a girl he had just met.

"I know." She said again; scarcely a whisper.

Their eyes were locked, searching for something that neither of them really comprehended. He searched to understand the dark secrets that bubbled in the deep pools of her eyes, and rippled over into the iris. She sought to understand the envy that enveloped her; to grasp the concept of this love that pulled her in deeper and deeper. Time stopped, the room ceased to exist, and, suddenly, it was just them. Alone. Searching.

"Kiss me," He barely whispered, daring to break their silence.

Timidly, she reached a shaking hand to his face. Her emotions surged and billowed inside of her, wiping away all reason and caution and understanding as she stared into the eyes of this boy. She had never felt this way before; she had never known she could feel this way. Cupping the side of his face, she gently pulled his mouth to hers.

He had never felt anything quite like this before. This girl stirred emotions in him that he never knew he could feel. She was…different, but so familiar in so many ways. As she pulled his face closer to hers, his mind shut off and his body took over. Hungrily, his mouth took hers; his hands getting lost in her wet mass of hair. He tasted her, savouring her. He wanted more, he wanted to love her; not make love to her, but to hold her close and love her more than anyone else ever had or ever could. He wanted her. He couldn't explain why, but he wanted to keep her close and never let her go ever again.

She couldn't explain the sudden emotions that swirled around inside of her, but she had never felt this way before. She wanted to keep feeling this way. She wanted him to love her, and she to love him; more than physical, or emotional, but to really, truly, love him. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her closer to him, trying to keep her close.

A sudden bang separated the two. Esca sat down on the bed, Quinn sitting hard on the floor; both breathing deeply. He could hear his mom and sister downstairs, opening cupboards and drawers; no doubt having just come back from shopping. His mom must have discovered more things they needed than just milk. His attention was brought back to the girl on the floor. She was breathing deeply, her face a thousand shades of red. There was something about this girl, something he couldn't put his finger on; and doubted he would ever be able to. She had, officially, walked into his life merely hours before, and, now, he felt himself drawn to her in a way he had never been drawn to anyone ever before. She looked up at him, and her face turned an even darker red; if that was even possible.

A smile split his face as he stared back at her. "Quinn…" he started to say something, anything, but he had nothing to say.

Quinn took in a deep breath, and raised her head to look at him. She was trying very hard to keep the blush from her cheeks, but Esca could tell that it was not working so well.

"I have something to tell you." She said very seriously.

Slightly worried, Esca slid off the bed and onto his knees in front of the girl.

"Anything," he said; and he meant it.

She dropped her gaze. "That…that was…"

He stooped his head to look into her face. "That was…what?" he tried his best to not sound worried; but he was starting to get concerned.

She lifted her eyes to his. "That was my first kiss."

Esca's eyes widened and he leaned back on his haunches. Running his hands through his hair, he began to laugh; first lightly, then harder as it began to rumble through him.

"Stop laughing at me." Quinn whimpered vaguely; her face returning to its crimson colour.

He chuckled as he leaned back towards the girl. "Oh Quinn." He leaned in closer and kissed her forehead. "Come. I want you to meet my family." He stood, grabbing the girl's hand and leading her out the door and down the stairs to where his mother and sister were.

* * *

"Quinn..? Quinn…?" a voice beckoned, pulling her from her thoughts.

Quinn's head snapped up, looking at the source of the voice. Esca stood in front of her, a look of puzzlement clearly etched in his face. Her mouth parted slightly, but closed just as quickly, as her mind reeled with what had just happened – or hadn't happened. She had just been caught enthralled in a day dream; very much to her great embarrassment. Her eyes widened as the full realization of what she had just been doing, and of what she was thinking about sank in as she stared at the boy in front of her.

Crap.

"Are…you okay?" He asked, watching as her face turned multiple shades of deep red.

Quinn opened her mouth to reply, but only managing to utter a small squeak. She closed her eyes tightly, covering her face with her hand. With a swift mental kick, she got her mind and tongue to work properly again.

"Yes..I'm fine." She managed a smile.

"You look warm. Are you getting a fever?" Esca asked a little worried now. She had been really spaced out there for a while; and he had worried she would faint or something. He took a step closer to her, placing the back of his hand against her forehead. "You're really warm." He said, more concerned now.

Quinn could feel the tips of her ears begin to burn when he touched her. Of course she would feel warm; all the blood in her body was racing to fill her cheeks.

"Really, I'm good. Space cadet moment, that's all. Honest." She gave him a real smile this time.

He smiled, less worried. "You get a lot of those?"

"Of what? Space cadet?" she asked.

"Yeah….space cadets." He said with a laugh.

Quinn gave an awkward laugh, "More than I'd care to admit."

"Well, as long as you come back to Earth every so often," He said with a smirk.

Quinn smiled back; glad the awkward moment had passed without a hitch.

"So," Esca said, walking over to his bed and hopping on to it. He settled in and gave her, as she saw it, a dazzling smile. "What shall we do?"

Quinn gave him a scrunched quizzical look, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't know how to read this boy. After her vivid day dream, she was flustered beyond all belief; and if he continued to smile at her like that she was sure she would soon forget her own name. When he continued to stare at her, she gave a nervous laugh and really started to think of something, anything, to do. After several, agonizingly long, minuted, Quinn gave him a grin before turning and heading out his bedroom door.

Curious, Esca got off his bed and followed her out the door, down the hall, and down the stairs to the living room. She entered like she knew where she was going so he stayed back, leaned against the door frame, and let her do what ever it was she was so determined to. She made quick work of the room, opening the cabinet under the stairs, grabbing the gaming station controllers and turning back to Esca, a grin playing on the corners of her mouth. Arching an eye brow, Esca walked over to her and grabbed the controller she extended to her.

"Well," he said very seriously. "As long as we are in an "honest" mood." He relished the confused look that took over her smirk. He gave a small laugh, "I normally have a thing about brutally destroying little girls at video games."

She smirked, popping her hip out and placing a hand on it akimbo. "I generally have the same rule. But...for you? I'll make an exception."

"You're going down."

* * *

Happy Reading! Yorkie-S xoxo


	6. Chapter 5 part 2

Several hours had passed before Quinn realized what time it was. She and Esca had been playing video games quite competitively, and she had just now taken notice of the hour. The sun had begun to set, and she knew her brothers, no matter how mad they were, would be freaking out sooner or later. She wasn't at all eager to go home; they had, after all, locked her out of the house, in the cold, and the snow. She wasn't even sure they would let her back into the house. There was a chance they would make her stay outside the entire night. All they really wanted to know was that she was alive; everything else after that was menial. In retrospect, she had basically told them that she didn't want to be a Mercer. If anything, she deserved to seep out in the cold.

Laying her controller down on the coffee table, she leaned forward, placing both hands on her face, trying to rub away the tiredness and guilt and frustration she felt over the entire situation. She heard Esca put his controller down beside hers and wait for her to say something. She took a few more minutes, readying herself to brace the cold and embrace whatever it was her brothers had for her.

"I need to go home." She stated flatly without removing her hands from her face.

"Fix home problems?" He asked tentatively.

She gave a half hearted laugh, "Yeah, fix home problems."

"I'll walk you home." He said, getting up from the couch and walking to the door.

"You don't have to do that." She said, looking up at him from her spot on the couch.

He smiled, "I know."

She smiled back; she was very sure she had some confusing and positive feelings for this boy she had just met. She got up from the couch and walked over to him. Esca handed her one of his coats and a scarf, before opening the door for her. Quinn quickly pulled the scarf over her nose, trying to hide the blush that seemed to never leave her cheeks. Esca closed the door behind the two, pulling a coat on as he led the way down the street to the Mercer home.

"So," he started, feeling the heat swarm his face and neck.

"So…" she parroted.

"When..?"

"When..?"

Esca took a deep breath, mentally kicking himself to pull it together. He had just met the girl, he shouldn't be this shy. They had spent the day playing video games; she was a friend, a buddy, and gamer mate. He arched an eyebrow at the last one before remembering the girl standing next to him. He did a quick double take before letting out the breath he had forgotten he was holding.

"When will I get to see you again?" he said all in a rush.

He could almost hear a giggle coming from her.

"I don't know." His heart sank. "Not that I don't want to." She added quickly, much to his relief.

He gave a happy nod.

"How about," she started; the wheels in her mind spinning. "Tomorrow, we meet at lunch in the cafeteria? I'll be the quiet girl sitting in the back."

"And I'll be the nervous wreck." He added; then realized what he had just said out loud. He definitely heard her laugh this time. "This is your house?" he asked quickly mentally whacking himself in the forehead. He needed to get a grip.

"Yes." She turned to him. "Thank you, for today." She smiled sincerely.

Esca relaxed, returning the smile. "You are most welcome. Anytime you want to have your ass handed to you at video games my door is always open." He gave a mock bow.

She gave a fake scoff before playfully punching him in the arm. "Thanks," she said again, with more depth than the first.

"Anytime."

Quinn turned away from the boy she just met towards the house with the boys that would be her very undoing. Closing her eyes, and saying a silent prayer to a deity she was half sure she hardly believed in a third of the time, she made the painful journey to the top of the stoop. She wrapped her fingers around the cold metal of the doorknob.

This was it. Do or die.

* * *

Bobby paced, nearly wearing a hole in the carpet. It had been several hours now since they had locked Quinn out of the house and she had walked off with a boy they had never seen before; and they hadn't seen her since. Bobby's mind was reeling, concocting a thousand and one different, terrible scenarios in which Quinn was maimed, and dead, at the bottom of the river. It was all ridiculous and, somewhere, deep in his subconscious, his better judgment was telling him that. Bobby was refusing to listen. His brothers had tried to distract him, telling him to calm down, grab a pick-up game, anything before he went ballistic; none of it did any good.

Jack was sitting on the couch, chewing on his nails; a habit he had dropped back in the fifth grade. He had managed to take it up again. He would stop only to run a hand through his hair. This was starting to become overwhelming; and not just for him. Angel was getting antsier as the minutes turned to hours, and as Bobby's agitation continued to rise – threatening to break through the roof. They made quite the trio; jumpier than a pack of fleas.

"Where the fuck is she?" Bobby yelled, breaking their momentary splurge of silence for the eighth time with the same question he had been asking the entire night.

When no one offered up an answer, he turned on his heels and stormed into the kitchen; stalking towards the fridge. Flinging it open, he angrily grabbed a beer, slamming the fridge door shut and rattling the machine. He popped the top off with his hand and took a large gulp, closing his eyes as the amber liquid slipped down his throat and into his nerves; momentarily calming them enough to think – briefly.

"We gotta go find her then." He said, taking another swig.

"Good luck with that." Angel said with a laugh. "She could be anywhere."

"We already know she ain't at Jerry's." Jack said, picking his nails now.

"Well sitting here isn't doing any good, Angel!" He gave his brother a pointed look. "And Jerry's no help either, Jack." Another look.

They had phone Jerry hours ago to see if Quinn had made her way to his place; looking for someplace to crash and let her brothers sweat it out. Jerry had calmly informed them that she was not there and to wait it out. Quinn was a smart girl and wouldn't go off with someone _she_ didn't know, firstly, and secondly she wouldn't stay out all night without letting them know eventually where she was. This had done nothing to settling Bobby's agitation; if anything it had only made it worse. He was going to give Quinn a piece of his mind when she showed up. The last thing Bobby needed on his plate was a vanishing sister.

Bobby was about to go get his coat and begin scouring Detroit searching for her, when he heard a sound on the porch. Stopping, he cocked his head to the side; he'd definitely heard something. Setting his beer on the coffee table, he marched over to the front door, grabbing the metal knob in his big hand, and yanked it open. Much to his immense relief and extreme frustration, Quinn was standing on the porch. She had a startled expression and her hand was floating where the door knob was; obviously about to open the door.

"You!" Bobby yelled very much out of relief as well as his burning temper. He couldn't quite decide if he was happy to see her or not.

"Me..!" She responded, unsure of the situation at hand.

"Get in."

* * *

Quinn was about to fully grasp the knob and venture into the snake pit, when the knob flew out of her hand and an angry and surprised Bobby was staring down at her. Unsure how to respond, she just stared back at him. He was breathing heavily and his eyes had a crazed look about them. Had they been freaking out already? Unsure, she stood there, waiting for them to make the first move; so to speak.

"You!" Bobby yelled very much out of relief as well as his burning temper. He couldn't quite decide if he was happy to see her or not.

"Me..!" She responded, unsure of the situation at hand.

Regaining some sense and composure, Bobby centered his crazed, steel gaze on the girl on the stoop. His senses flicked on, and, with a deep breath, he stood to his full height; game time.

"Get in."

Quinn knew better than to argue. With her head stooped as low as it could go, she, for all intents and purposes, scurried in the house. She didn't make any eye contact with her brothers as she came into the living room. She could feel their glares, boring holes into her from all sides. Setting her jaw, she determined to not speak unless directly interrogated.

She heard the door slam from behind her and Bobby's heavy set footfalls as he thundered towards her. This, she knew, could go one of many possible ways; and most of them were in the same, less than fun, direction. Bobby stopped mere inches from behind her, his broad stature looming behind her. Sucking in what she feared may be her last breath she turned to face her doom.

She was not, nor ever would have been, prepared for what happened next.

"You stupid little Techie!" Bobby yelled, throwing his large arms around her and pulling her in to a lung crushing hug.

"Oh…okay…" she managed to get out.

With as much warning as was given with the hug, Bobby let go of Quinn and partially shoved her back a foot.

"Where the fuck did you go?" he roared, throwing his hand up in the air is exasperation.

"With a friend – "

"Don't you be a smart ass with me Quinn, don't you fucking dare!" He pointed a finger at her face testily.

She swallowed hard before answering him. "With a boy," she could feel the tension escalate. "From school." She was treading dark waters she knew.

"What's his name?" Bobby asked sharply.

"Esca."

"Hmm." Was all he said as he paced around her. "Here's a harder one,"

Shit.

"What's your last name, Quinn?"

Her mouth felt dry.

"Mercer,"

Fire burned in Bobby's eyes, and she knew that same flame was hot with anger in her other brother's eyes.

"What's your last name, Quinn?"

Her chest was beginning to feel tight.

"Mercer," she said almost breathlessly.

"What is your last name, Quinn!" He bellowed, shaking Quinn to the core.

Taking several rasped breaths, she dropped her head, tears flowing freely down the bridge of her nose.

"Tregan." She said, defeated.

"What was that?" he stooped closer, demanding she admit it again.

"My last name is Tregan."

"Tregan, that's right. That's the name _you_ chose, isn't it?" Quinn nodded silently. "Well, Tregan," he cast a look at his brothers, each nodding their approval. "You have your work cut out for you."

Quinn lifted her head to look at Bobby. "How's that?" she didn't want to ask, but knew they would wait till she did.

"If you want to be a Mercer, you're gonna have to earn it." He folded his arms across his chest.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she gave a small nod in response. She stole a quick look at Angel, who was giving her a dark glare. Her heart ached sorely looking at him, and she dreaded what she was about to do next, but knew she would eventually have too.

She looked at Jack.

His face was stone hard, a mirror reflection of Bobby's; a look he had mastered after years of being a Mercer. He couldn't keep his heart out of his eyes though; and they sliced through her like a hot knife. They burned with hurt and anger, and she knew she had fucked up royally. She looked at his eyes as long as her heart could handle it before she dropped her head again and stared intently at her feet.

Bobby watched the girl slowly crumble. He knew she was going through everything she possibly could to try and make this better. He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling; and he also knew it was necessary. His chest was thumping painfully looking at her slowly fall apart in front of him. Anyone else and he would have enjoyed this immensely. With Quinn it was physically hurting him. He had to keep this going though; he had to keep with it. She needed to learn.

With a grunt, he unfolded his arms, placing his hands on his hips. He was about to do the one thing he never wanted to do to her, ever.

"Go to bed, Tregan."

He dismissed her.

"Yes sir,"

It was barely a whisper as she hurried past them, running up the stairs. He could hear her fall hard on her bed, hitting him straight in the chest. What followed only made it harder. As much as she tried to muffle the sound with her pillow, Bobby knew when his sister was crying.

Running a hand through his short hair, he stormed to the door and grabbed his coat. He needed air, he needed space, he needed a drink, and he needed a fight. Pulling his coat on he yanked the door open, not saying a word to his brothers. He slammed it behind him as he went straight to his car. He knew where he was going, he knew what he was going to do; but he also knew it was the one thing that would keep him sane.

* * *

Yay part 2! Sorry that took a while. I, personally, like this chapter! The creative juices are flowing!  
Happy Reading! Yorkie -s


	7. Chapter 6

Quinn roamed the hallways, avoiding as many people and as much eye contact as possible. The fewer people she had to deal with the better; ultimately. Her head was pounding uncomfortably, her stomach was in knots, and her heart hurt more than she ever could have imagined. Her feet ached from the long walk from her house…no, not from her house; from the Mercer house. Her feet ached from the walk from the Mercer home to the school. She tried to tough it out as best as she could. She had been without family before. She could do it again. She could lie to herself and pretend she was strong enough for this. She could survive without the four people she thought she would have died without. She could make herself believe that. She could believe. She could.

The morning hadn't been any better than the night before. With a heavy heart and light feet, Quinn made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. She knew her brothers were up, she could smell breakfast, and hear their playful banter; banter which would die away as soon as she walked into the kitchen. The humor would leave the room as quickly as a deflating balloon; it was almost worth not venturing in. Something pushed her. She wanted to see them; even if they ignored her, or bullied her, she loved them. She needed to see them. She needed at least that; if nothing else. She needed them.

Sucking in a breath, she silently walked in; making sure to make as little noise as possible. They didn't see her at first. They continued on with their banter and tomfoolery. For a moment, she felt like it all had been a bad dream; like none of it had happened. For a moment – far to brief – Jack turned, a smile still on his lips, and noticed her. That smile lingered until it remembered the nightmare; the nightmare Quinn tried to will into non-existence. Just as quickly as it had appeared, that smile disappeared; replaced by a firm line – unreadable in every way but one. It was a look of disappointment.

Swallowing the tears that stung her eyes, she aggregated all the willpower she had left and went about getting breakfast. At first, they said nothing. They simply watched as she went about, opening cupboards and the fridge. It felt like an eternity before one of them spoke.

"We saved you some." Angel said, leaning against the door frame.

She turned to him, surprised by what he said and that he had said anything.

"You did?" she tried to keep the surprise, and hope, out of her voice.

"Yeah, it's in the pan." Bobby said from the table, not turning to look at her.

Slowly, trying to not let her hope build up to high, she turned to look at that pan sitting on the stovetop. What she saw shouldn't have surprised her, but it did hurt her. Sitting there, chard to a crisp in a pool of grease was the remains of what they had been eating. Their leftovers scraped in and set on high for who knew how long.

"What's wrong? Aren't you hungry, Tregan?" Bobby taunted, turning his head to look at her.

"Even dogs have names." She whispered under her breath.

This was what she had been reduced to. Table scraps unfit for a dog. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she shook her head. Her mind was reeling, trying to formulate a sentence. This was what they had been laughing about before she came in. This was the big joke. Her.

"I'm not hungry." She said before turning on her heals and heading to the door.

She didn't want to be in the house anymore. She didn't want to be around them anymore; her heart couldn't handle it. Pulling on her coat she slung her backpack over her shoulders, picked up her shoes and ran out the door. She didn't stop until she was out of breath and her feet were numb from cold. Hunched over, she took large gasps of cold air; hoping it would shock her senses into feeling something other than the stifling pain that deluged her veins.

Choking on a sob she straightened, letting the new and familiar feelings of despair settle over her like a cloak; shrouding everything and leaving her to simply exist. Gathering as much chutzpah as she could she continued the walk to school; shoes still in hand. Her feet were less than happy with her decision to continue, listless and unaware to their unabated protest. Eventually the cold became too much and silenced them, and Quinn continued in bliss-less silence.

She eventually made it to the school; slightly worse for wear and twice as miserable. Winding her way through the halls she made it to her locker, solely intent on doing what she needed too, grab what she needed and just get through the day. When a hand slammed on the locker beside hers, missing her head by mere centimeters, she knew her day was going to migrate as far south as it possibly could; probably for the whole of winter.

"Tregan." An all too familiar voice taunted.

With an audible sigh, Quinn leaned her temple against the edge of her locker.

"Don't call me that." She said, frustration already beginning to build inside of her.

"Call you what, your name? Well that's an odd request, isn't it? Why would you not want to be called by your name? Unresolved issues? Hmmm?" Tannis went on, turning and leaning back against the wall of lockers. "Are we having a bad day Tregan?" he said in a baby voice.

That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. With an abrupt snap, Quinn stood as straight as a board, swiftly slamming the locker shut. Eyes as cold as steel, she turned to face the startled Tannis. Quinn had a million and one things to say to him, and a million and two ways to say them; but only one thing would come out. The one truth she knew since before Evelyn, before the system had screwed her over time and time again, before all the social workers, and before her mom had left her. A fact she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. The one truth she would take to her grave and never let go of.

"My name is not Tregan."

"What do you mean?" Tannis asked, standing up straight.

Quinn was about to answer when something else grabbed her attention. Snapping her head to the left, she stared past Tannis, past the crowd, toward the cafeteria doors. The student had already began to converge on the same point; one mind thinking the same thought. A collective body moving in motion together all towards the same destination.

It was happening.

Anger gripped her stomach, pushing her forward. Dropping her books and her shoes, she took off at a dead run; leaving Tannis utterly confused and trailing slowly behind her. She slammed into the wall of students slowly making their way into cafeteria; cautious of what was going to happen. They all knew. It had happened a hundred times before and would continue to happen a hundred times more if not stopped. Quinn was going to stop it. She had let it go on long enough. She knew what she had to do.

She felt like she was swimming upstream; the tight conglomeration of students making it near impossible to reach her destination. With one last push, she emerged from the crown, through the large double doors. Staring at the scene in front of her, she was aghast. She was hardly aware that all the attention was now on the girl standing, frozen, in the broad circle of students and royalty.

Not ten feet from her lay a boy she had seen around campus. He was in her AP courses, president of some club, and all around unnoticeable. Why had the court chosen him? What could he have possibly done to upset King? He was breathing deeply, already having sustained a beating from the knights. He was shaking, terrified, as the royal court and population stared at the sap on the floor. His fate was being sealed right in front of his eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it.

She could.

She could do something about it. Mercers were known for bashing heads and taking names, asking questions when the damage had already been done. That's what she was going to do. She was going to take thrones, take crowns, and ask all the questions when her goal was already accomplished. Slipping her bag off her shoulder and grabbing the strap, she walked, bare foot, towards the victim.

"Stand aside, Tregan," Came yet another all too familiar booming voice.

She paid it no heed as she continued towards the boy. He was shaking, she could see that clearly. Crouching, she unzipped her bag and pulled out her pouch of wipes. Pulling one from the top, she slowly reached out, gingerly wiping the cut on his lip.

"Stop," he whispered. When she didn't, the boy became more panicked. He grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop.

"Tregan!" the voice yelled again.

"Stop." The boy hissed, now more urgent than the last time. "They'll do the same to you." He pleaded for her. In his small way, he was trying to protect her.

Quinn just smiled at him, handing him the package of wipes.

"They can't hurt me." She said, standing to her feet. She turned towards the royals; butterflies doing acrobatics in her stomach.

"You dare defy your king?!" Styxx bellowed; his voice echoing off the walls.

"I have no king." She said, raising her chin. She could see Cicily standing behind Styxx, an evil grin playing on her lips; she was going to enjoy this immensely.

"You dare defy me, Tregan?! That's anarchy!"

Quinn merely smiled. "My name is not Tregan."

"What?!" his face was going red.

"My name is not Tregan."

"You obstinate bitch!" he yelled, advancing on the girl. His footfalls thundered through the room as he closed in on her. Grabbing the collar of her shirt, he forced her towards him, lifting her up. "I will not take insubordination."

"And I will not take an asshole as a self proclaimed king." Styxx's eyes burned. "I do not take orders from you, or any of your jesters, and certainly not your concubine." Styxx let go of her just long enough to backhand her across the cheek, then pull her back up by the collar before she could lose her footing.

"You've just sentenced yourself to death, Tregan." He hissed.

Quinn could almost feel Cicily's excitement. She knew where this road was taking her; but she also knew it was the only way she could fix everything. She had to do this. The alter needed a sheep. Coughing through the pain in her face, she motioned for Styxx to lean in closer.

"My name is not Tregan." She said; his face a few inches from hers.

"If you're not Tregan, then who are you?" he demanded obviously aggravated with her game.

Quinn giggled, enjoying herself very much. Raising her arm, she wrapped her hand around the back of Styxx's head, pulling him closer still. When her mouth was beside his ear, she gave a soft laugh, running her hand through the hair on the back of his head.

"Mercer," she whispered.

"What?!" His head snapped back. She grinned sheepishly. His hand flashed out again, grabbing a fistful of hair at the nape of her neck. With a hard pull, he forced her back onto her knees, relishing in the pain etching its way onto her face.

"Now now," she grimaced through the pain. "Let's play nice."

"Shut up, bitch!" he gave her head another yank, ignoring as her hands clawed at his own, trying to loosen his vice like grip.

Quinn was only slightly starting to regret her decision. Her mind was reeling, informing her of a thousand and one different ways to have come out to the school; to no longer hide that she was a Mercer. None would have been as effective as this one, but they probably would have been a whole hell of a lot less painful; and this was only the tip of the iceberg.

"My fellow students," Styxx began, addressing the 'lowlifes' he 'governed'. "Look at the girl kneeling before you. She is a traitor, an anarchist." another yank on her hair. "She is not one of you; not one of _us_. She is an outcast, and I expect you to treat her as such." With a hard shove, he released her hair, pushing her forward onto the floor. "But what are her crimes? Now that is a good question." He circled her, reveling in his own animosity. "She," he pointed a finger at her, "is from a line of tormentors and scoundrels who have plagued our school for generations."

Quinn leaned back on her heels, staring Styxx square in the eyes. She was not afraid of him, and she would make sure he knew that.

"But who is this marauding family you may ask? That is also a good question."

He snapped his fingers and two pairs of large hands grabbed Quinn under the arms, hauling her to her feet. Dragging her off the floor, the hoisted her on to a table; visible from every angle. She knew where this was going. She watched as Styxx returned to his 'thrown', returning her gaze just as steadily.

"That girl," he paused, again pointing an accusing finger at her. "That girl is a Mercer."

Quinn heard the gasps emanate from every body in the room. Turning her head, she looked for the boy who was victim before her. He stared at her, wide eyed and terrified; no doubt having heard the many horror stories that seemed to follow the Mercer name every where it went. This boy was afraid of her, though, moments earlier, he pleaded for her to leave him and save herself. What was he thinking now? Did he think she deserved this? That she was getting what every Mercer deserved? It didn't matter that she had good grades, or never stood out. What mattered was that she was a Mercer – a female mercer. She was an easy target.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. She turned her attention back to Styxx. His focus was momentarily off of her, and on the brother he called prince. Clapping him on the shoulder, he pulled him in and motioned towards his greatest accomplishment; a Mercer victim. Tannis stared at her, eyes wide with shock and uncertainty. His eyes never left hers as Styxx handed him a carton of eggs; assassins already surrounding her, handing out an ample supply to the populace. She knew this was going to come.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath; ready for everything they threw at her. Opening her eyes again, she leveled her gaze with Styxx and silently dared him to begin what he had been waiting for. She knew he would relish this moment and prolong it as long as possible. She knew he was not going to let her off easy; that wasn't his nature. Meeting her gaze, Styxx raised his hand, clasped securely around an egg.

"Game on."


	8. Chapter 7

Jack stood in the back of the cafeteria, leaning, nonchalantly, against the wall. He'd been there before Quinn had come in and started this whole fiasco. He'd been sitting with a few buddies, discussing where they were going to hang out while they were supposed to be in math, when Quinn came in; obviously determined to do something stupid. He knew her at least that well. She was always, somehow, prone to drama. When things had started to get serious, he'd stood up to get a better view of the scene. No matter how mad the four of them were with her, he would step in if he felt she really needed it. Taking a deep breath, he seemed to almost merge with the wall, a skill he had learned at a young age. No one paid any attention to the young male Mercer; not when there was a younger female Mercer elevated and ready to be beat down.

He'd already formulated a plan. Ready for action as Bobby would put it. It was what they did. They always had a plan in their pocket, ready to be pulled out at the last second and utilized when nothing else seemed to work. It's what had gotten them out of numerous debacles and tight spots over the years. Although, more often than not, the plans tended to be last minute and constructed out of pure desperation. That was how their family worked; even down to Quinn. She never fully thought things through like she liked to think she did. She was as much a 'fly by the seat of their pants' person as the rest of them. That's what helped her meld with the Mercer family as well as she had. This plan, however, was seeming to back fire on her; and Jack knew what he had to do.

He was going to leave her.

As terrible as it made him feel, this was what he had to do – and what she wanted. She was proving herself, once and for all; not only to him, but to herself as well. She was a Mercer, and she was proving it the Mercer way. Loud and proud and in the most stupid and dangerous way she could think of. Honestly, he wasn't expecting Quinn to be quite so boisterous about it. They all thought there was another good week of her silent depression before she did anything about it. Their stunt at breakfast that morning must have been her breaking point. All four of them knew it was just a matter of time before she cracked; she could only take the abuse for so long. Truth was they needed her just as much as she needed them. After their mom died, Quinn was the one to keep the house in some sense of order; keep them all afloat.

"That girl," the buffoon who claimed to be king yelled; pulling Jack back to the scene. He was pointing a finger at her, taking very obvious pleasure at having her, let alone a Mercer, at his disposal. He had far too much air in his lungs as far as Jack was concerned. He needed to just…not exist so much. "That girl is a Mercer!" he finished, overly pleased with his dramatic pause. Idiot.

Jack just chuckled to himself. This was going to get good. He knew Quinn could do one of two things: she could either do what she always did and try to negotiate her way out, concede, and let 'nature take its course' so to speak. Or, she could surprise everyone, including Jack, and kick the guy's ass all up and down the hallway and make Bobby very, very proud of her. Secretly, deep down, Jack was hoping it would be option number two; even though he knew it would be number one. He knew Quinn would let Styxx do whatever he wanted to prove that she was not ashamed of her brothers. She knew she had to do something extreme to prove to Bobby that she loved them; even though they knew all too well that she did.

"Any last words, Mercer?" Styxx taunted. Arm up, egg in hand and ready to begin his ridiculous exploit.

Jack held his breath, waiting for Quinn to respond.

Quinn stood up a little taller, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. What appeared to be a smirk played on the corner of her lips. Jack could have sworn he heard her chuckle; typical Mercer to laugh in the face of doom. Lifting her head, she stared right at Styxx, steady as rock and feisty as a unbroken horse.

"I think I'm gonna wing it." She said, daring Styxx to do his worse.

Jack had to cover his mouth to prevent a laugh from coming out. Damn. She was asking for it, like any one of them would have. She was basically begging Styxx to do everything he could to her. When Quinn wanted to make amends, she sure as hell wasn't going to do it in any sort of small way. Jack's face was beaming under his hand. This was going to be so good.

* * *

The blood began to swarm Styxx's face. Quinn knew she had pissed him off, and possibly pushed him over the edge; but she couldn't have been more pleased. This was what she wanted; this was what was going to change everything. She was a Mercer and she was proud; and now everyone knew. There was no more hiding, no more lying, no more cowering. There was no turning back now. She was going to see this thing through till the end. Styxx had no idea what had just conspired between them. This small display of power was the mere tip of his melting iceberg. If it took until her last breath, she was going to finish him. She was going to end his reign and topple his dynasty.

Pulling back his arm, Styxx gave a small snarl before swinging his arm forward and impaling Quinn with the first of the flegs. It made contact with a very audible smack, the odor even more pungent then all the other times. That was the only order the others needed. Within seconds of the first hit, hundreds more began to rain down on her, hitting ever exposed part of her. Quinn did her best to protect herself, keep her face covered, but it was becoming more difficult as the eggs seemed to never run out. They were beginning to sting and the shells were cutting up her exposed arms. When she was sure she wouldn't be able to take much more, they stopped. This was of little comfort to her when she knew it was only the first act of a three part play. Gathering her senses, she straightened and turned to locate Styxx. He was standing in front of his assassins, rice sac already in hand. Just as their eyes met, Quinn had to turn to avoid the sac that he had thrown at her. This, again, was the crowd's signal. A cloud of rice sacs hailed down on her, hurting even more than the eggs did. Some of them had superb aim and pelted her in the ribs, shooting waves of pain through her. Dropping to her knees, she tried to become a smaller target and hopefully avoid some of the students in the back of the crowd.

When the last sac hit, she knew there was a lot of damage done. Her breathes were coming is raspy drags and her sides felt tight and hurt immensely when she tried to move. Act two was finished. This was why it was always so easy for Styxx to pick off his victims; they were so battered after flegs there was no way they would be able to conjure up the strength to even think about defending themselves. Lifting her head, she once again leveled her glare with Styxx who was coming right for her. This was the closing number; the final act of this horrific satire that only the king found to be a comedy.

She knew what he was going to do, how could she not? He had been patiently waiting the entire escapade to get to this point. This was his shining moment, his big final number. He relished each time he got to this point. When he was close enough to Quinn he lashed out, grabbing a fist full of hair. With a hard yank, and no second thoughts, he dragged her from the table and to the floor. Quinn cried out in pain against her best efforts. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but she felt no defeat in doing so. Looking up at him, she caught a glimpse of his crazed, maniacal grin before blows began to fall down on her. She did her best, again, to protect herself; but it was again proving to be almost wasted effort.

She felt his foot connect with her abdomen, bruising her already sore ribs. Her body reacted and tried to curl in on itself but Styxx was too fast. His fist flew and hit her upside the head. She began looking sense of what was going on. Her vision was swimming and began to blur around the edges. The pain was lessening as her vision began to go, and she knew she was blacking out. When she was absolutely sure she could handle no more, Styxx delivered one more blow to her middle section, and she was now very certain he had cracked a rib. She gave a small whimper as her lungs began forcing air out in a cough, blood streaming from her nose and mouth.

"By order of the king." Styxx said, rubbing the back of his hand over his upper lip.

With a single nod, the court began to move as one and exit the cafeteria. Several more kicks were given in passing, a few more blows in leaving. The student body followed quickly after, a wide birth given to the crippled Mercer girl. Quinn's mind was beginning to go fuzzy as the students walked past, their images floating and changing in her vision as they passed. She was very close to blacking out. She didn't know what to do next. She didn't know if Jack or Esca – oh Esca – were even around to maybe help her. She began to panic.

When she was sure everyone had left, she took as many breaths as she could before she tried to push herself up. Her arms felt like they were made of putty and her chest felt like it was in a vice being slowly tightened. She gave a whimper, continuing to push herself as best she could to try and get up off the floor. She had to get to a hospital; she had to get out of the school. Her arms gave out, and she fell to the ground, her face pressed against the tile floor, a pool of blood warm and sticky under her cheek. She finally gave in and began to sob painfully. Her chest tightened with each breath and each breath started to become more difficult.

Somewhere in between her sobs and shallow breaths, she heard the sound of shoes on tile coming closer to her. Her mind began to panic, delirium beginning to set in. She began to curl in on herself, brining her legs up to protect her sore ribs. She tried to choke out a plea to leave her be, but only more whimpers came out. The shoes stopped in front of her.

"Hey easy now," a voice said. A hand reached down, smoothing out her hair.

Quinn didn't recognize the voice, but she was beyond caring. As long as they weren't causing her any more pain, she didn't care who they were.

"I've never seen anything like that. You sure are something else." The voice went on. It was definitely a male voice; a kind male voice. Quinn liked the tone of his voice; it was smooth and soothing. "Shit, they sure did a number on you. Let's get you cleaned up a bit, okay sweetie?" large, gentle hands, began wrapping around her shoulders, gently lifting her to a sitting position. Quinn moaned as her ribs screamed in pain at being moved. "I know I'm sorry. I'll work as fast as I can." He said.

Very gently, he began wiping her face down with what felt like wet wipes. Quinn recognized the smell; the same ones she carried with her for king victims. Somewhere, deep in her fuzzy subconscious, she worried that she might be bleeding all over whomever it was that was helping her. She tried to apologize, but her tongue felt like lead in her mouth and she was having trouble forming words.

"It's okay." He said, putting the wipes away. "I'm going to get you to a hospital. You might have some cracked ribs."

Quinn nodded, losing strength by the second. Gently, he leaned her head against his shoulder, slipping one hand behind her back and the other under the crook of her legs. As smoothly as he could, he lifted her off the floor.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Quinn did her best to nod, her head bouncing around like a bobble head doll. "Good, let's get you out of here." She could hear the smile in his voice.

Quinn's mind began to drift away as she was being carried away by a boy she didn't know. She was vaguely aware when he laid her in the back seat of his car, or managed to fasten a seat belt around her; or when he was joined by another male voice. She faintly remember being cradled in the lap of one of the voices, or being lifted out of the car, carried across the parking lot, and placed on to a gurney as hospital staff placed needles into her arms. The last thing she remembered before the world turned black was a voice yelling above all others.

* * *

Quinn's mind was foggy when she woke up. Her eyes rolled around in her head as they tried to focus on something in the room that wasn't white. That was one of the reasons she hated hospitals so much; everything was white. There was nothing for her eyes to focus on because everything blurred together in one mass. When she was able to identify the mass as the ceiling she rolled her eyes down, still searching for something solid. When she found a larger mass, leaning on the end of her bed, she squinted to try and make out a definite line. She knew it was a person; but that was all she knew. Lifting a hand to her eyes to try to rub the fuzz away, she felt a tug on her arm. Looking down, her eyes came to focus on the needle protruding from the middle of her am. She controlled the urge to pull it out. That would just set off alarms and bring in nurses to put the needle back in.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" the voice from the cafeteria asked.

Looking up from her arm, she put all her energy in to bringing the person at the foot of her bed into focus. Slowly, his face came in to focus. Quinn didn't know his face, but it was a kind face. He just sat there, waiting for her to 'make the first move'. Quinn wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She knew she should probably thank him, but she was overcome with the need to know who he was to satisfy her curiosity. She had to say something, anything.

"…water," she croaked.

"Hold on," He said, getting up and moving over to the table beside her bed.

He grabbed the plastic blue cup and brought it over to her. Slipping a hand under her back, he lifted her forward and brought the cup to her lips. Tilting it slowly, he held it for her as she drank thirstily. When she had finished the cup, he poured her a second; which she finished just a fast as she had finished the first. Leaning back, he set her back against her pillow, returned the cup to the table, and returned to his spot at the foot of her bed.

"Thank you," she said, placing a hand over her middle section. The water felt good in her stomach.

"You're welcome," he said with a nod.

"I…" Quinn started but stopped. She wasn't sure how to ask him who he was without sounding rude.

He gave a soft laugh and crossed his arms over the metal footboard, placing his chin on his arms. "You want to know who I am." He said. When she nodded, he gave her a kind smile. "You could say we are…old friends." When she gave him a confused look, he stood up and came around to the side of her bed. He gingerly sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned in closer to her face. "Think, Quinn." He said, staring her in the eyes.

Quinn racked her brain for any trace of him. There was a part of her that swore she didn't know who he was; but there was a small part that told her she did. A headache was forming in the base of her beck, and she was getting frustrated with herself for not remembering.

"I can't…I don't… "

"Think." He said kindly. "We have something in common; something very big in common."

Looking into his green eyes she searched for the answer. She knew it, she had to. She had to.

She did!

She gave a small gasp. She did know him.

"Canada."

* * *

:0 :) :D Happy reading!

Yorkie-s


	9. Chapter 8

Change of plans, you guys get it first!

* * *

Paxton stood outside Quinn's hospital room, leaning against the whitewashed walls. There was something about hospitals that made him complacent. There was always a story to be found - always a soul needing saving, a life desiring death. A family praying to a deity they probably didn't believe in for a miracle they weren't sure they deserved. There was always something in hospitals. Like a nurse with a story, or a doctor with a record. Hospitals were never dull. It hadn't been so long ago that he had been a story in that very hospital. Not so long ago, he had been praying to a god, one that he had never believed in, for a miracle he was sure he never deserved; but a miracle he got. It came in the form of a girl, a small, caring girl who now was lying where he once did; suffering from the same injuries he had once endured, and praying the same prayers he had uttered.

His own life was a story; one he rarely told and scarcely liked to think about. One he wished, sometimes, that he never lived. A rough past made for a rough life, which led to multiple schools in the past three years and more lives than he cared to remember. It was easier to leave a place behind if it wasn't really him who lived there; so he would lie. He would make up aliases, and stories, and make a new person for every town he occupied.

This town had been no different than any of the ones before. No different until he had met her. She had swooped in, caring spirit and baby wipes in hand and taken care of a person she had never met before that day. He was barely awake for most of it. All he could really make out was the sound of her voice, the smell of the antiseptic on the wipes, and the short ride to the hospital. When he had finally come to, sore and confused, a nurse had come in to check on him. His body ached, his ribs unwelcomingly sore, and memory annoyingly fuzzy. When he finally managed to get his mouth to cooperate, he questioned the nurse.

"How did I get here?" his voice came out raspy and sounded almost foreign to him.

She had smiled politely, "You were brought here, sweetie." She said, going about checking him. "A young girl brought you here with her brother."

He nodded, racking his brain for the missing information.

"Whom?"

The nurse's smile wavered a little. "Mercer, Quinn Mercer." She said. There was a tone he couldn't identify in her voice.

Curious, he prodded more. "Does she work here?" How did this nurse know who she was?

The nurse shook her head. "No, but she comes in here at least once a week with…others such as yourself."

Now he was confused. "Others like me? What do you mean?"

"Enough questions, now, you need to get some rest." She tucked in the corner of his sheet before leaving the room.

Aggravated, he made it his goal to find out who this girl was, and what her motive was. She hadn't been easy to track down. No Quinn Mercer was shown on any of the attendance sheets; it was like a Quinn Mercer didn't exist. When the commotion had begun in the cafeteria earlier that day, it was like a sadistic answer to prayers. The girl who claimed to be Quinn Mercer all but through herself at the mercies of the group that claimed to be royalty. She stood, elevated above the rest, and was beaten mercilessly. When all was said and done, the girl lay crippled and defeated on the cool ceramic floor of the cafeteria.

Paxton knew what he had to do. He knew he owed her that much, but he couldn't move. Quinn laid there, breathing heavily, trying in vain to push herself up, to no doubt try and get herself somewhere she could nurse her injuries without fear of the group coming back. Stumbling, arms weak from the beating, they gave out and she fell hard; face pressed against the floor. He could hear small, pathetic whimpers emanate from her; no doubt some of her ribs fractured, if not broken.

Gathering all his courage, he stood up from his spot at the back; cautiously making his way towards the girl. His heart hurt to look at her. Had she hesitated before coming to help him? Had she thought about turning and leaving him there to struggle and suffer?

Shaking his head, attempting to clear his thoughts, he knelt down beside her, reaching a hand out to smooth her hair out of her face.

"Hey easy now," he said, trying to ease her as best he could.

"I've never seen anything like that. You sure are something else." he went on. Quinn seemed to relax a little the more he talked to her. "Shit, they sure did a number on you. Let's get you cleaned up a bit, okay sweetie?" he wrapped his hands around her shoulders, gently lifting her to a sitting position. Quinn moaned as her ribs screamed in pain at being moved. "I know I'm sorry. I'll work as fast as I can." He said.

Very gently, he began wiping her face down with wet wipes; he wasn't one hundred percent sure why, but he began carrying them around with him ever since that first day. Quinn tried to speak, but her words got tangled in her mouth the more she tried.

"It's okay." He said, putting the wipes away. "I'm going to get you to a hospital. You might have some cracked ribs."

Quinn nodded, losing strength by the second. Gently, he leaned her head against his shoulder, slipping one hand behind her back and the other under the crook of her legs. As smoothly as he could, he lifted her off the floor.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Quinn did her best to nod, her head bouncing around like a bobble head doll. "Good, let's get you out of here."

As quickly, and gently, as he could, Paxton made his way out a side door and towards his car. He had parked near the rear of the school, hell bent on becoming insignificant for the rest of the year. He was almost at his car when his path was blocked by a very tall male. Paxton stopped dead in his tracks; getting more and more nervous. Was this round two? Had this guy followed them so he could beat them both?

"Where do you think you're taking her?" the stranger demanded, staring Paxton down hard.

Paxton swallowed hard before answer. "I'm taking her to the hospital." Quinn stirred in his arms. "Please, let me by."

The boy came closer, steely gaze locked on the girl in his arms. Lifting a hand, he gently moved hair out of Quinn's face. Paxton stood frozen, unsure of what his reaction should be.

Lifting his eyes to Paxton's, the boy gave him a small smirk. "Relax, I'm her brother." Was all he said before reaching out his arms to take her from him.

"No," Paxton said, taking a step back. "How can I trust you?" he could feel his knees starting to shake.

The boy gave him a hard stare. "You're just going to have to."

Paxton's mind raced, still unsure if he could trust this guy. The girl in his arms stirred, turning her head towards the boy in front of them.

"Jackie," it came out as a whimper.

"I'm right here, Quinnie." He said, reaching a hand out to her. "Good enough?" he said to Paxton.

Reluctantly, he nodded and let the boy take her out of his arms.

"My cars over here, she needs to go to a hospital." He led the way to his beater of a car. Unlocking the door, he took Quinn from the boy, allowing him to slide in to the back seat before easing Quinn in beside him.

When they had gotten there, the boy seemed to know exactly what to do. It was obviously not his, or Quinn's first time in that hospital. She was taken away for tests and care, and the boy had left, saying something about being back in a while. Unsure, again, of what he should do, Paxton waited. An hour later a nurse had come to tell him that Quinn had been placed in a room and that he could go see her if he wanted.

He had sat at the end of her bed for twenty minutes; counting each one as it passed. What was he doing there? He didn't even know this girl and here he was sitting at the foot of her freaking hospital bed while she slept! He wasn't Edward Cullen for Pete's sake! This was ridiculous, he should have left after she was admitted, but no he had stayed.

Aggravated, he got up to leave, then sat back down, then stood, then sat once more. This was silly! He threw his hands up in exasperation. He should just leave. What was keeping him here? Why did he feel the need to stay by her side? She was a capable young girl, and that boy said he would be back; so why should he stay?

Paxton was about to get up to leave, for the third time, when Quinn began to stir. Sitting up straight, he leveled his gaze with her, trying to steady his erratic breathing. Slowly her eyes began to open, and, after a few seconds, her eyes settled on him.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" he asked. Why was he continually calling her sweetie?

She blinked repeatedly, no doubt trying to clear her vision. Her face gave no indication that she recognized him, but that was understandable. She laid there quite for a long while before she attempted to say something.

"…water," she croaked.

"Hold on," He said, getting up and moving over to the table beside her bed.

He grabbed the plastic blue cup and brought it over to her. Slipping a hand under her back, he lifted her forward and brought the cup to her lips. Tilting it slowly, he held it for her as she drank thirstily. When she had finished the cup, he poured her a second; which she finished just a fast as she had finished the first. Leaning back, he set her back against her pillow, returned the cup to the table, and returned to his spot at the foot of her bed.

"Thank you," she said, placing a hand over her middle section.

"You're welcome," he said with a nod.

"I…" Quinn started but stopped.

He gave a soft laugh and crossed his arms over the metal footboard, placing his chin on his arms. "You want to know who I am." He said. When she nodded, he gave her a kind smile. "You could say we are…old friends." He was slipping into one of his many personas, trying to keep things as light as possible; it was working. When she gave him a confused look, he stood up and came around to the side of her bed. He gingerly sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned in closer to her face. "Think, Quinn." He said, staring her in the eyes.

He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes, trying to figure out who this stranger was.

"I can't…I don't… "

"Think." He said kindly. "We have something in common; something very big in common."

Looking into his green eyes she searched for the answer. She knew it, she had to. She had to.

She gave a small gasp, "Canada."

* * *

Bobby had gotten the phone call from the hospital half an hour ago. Quinn had gotten herself into one of her messes, and he was a wreck now because of it. He had dropped the phone where he stood and barged out the door. Lumbering into his crappy old car, he tore out of the drive way, and sped through traffic; not stopping for lights or cops or pedestrians as he made a treacherous venture to the hospital. He paid no attention to law or road signs as he got closer and closer to his destination.

This, granted, was not Quinn's first time being admitted to the hospital; she was a fucking Mercer for Pete's sake. She had faired her own share of broken bones, fractured ribs, sprained ankles and the sorts; but that never stopped Bobby from making sure he was always there when she was admitted. She would never fully admit it – especially not now with things as they were – but she wanted him there as much as he wanted to be there. She was a baby, deep down. She needed him more than she knew; and he would always be there for her; regardless of family circumstances.

This "Mercer" "Tregan" ordeal was far from dealt with, but Quinn had obviously done something to try to prove herself. She was never one for violence, never one for brawn over brain, hit first ask questions later. This is what had made Bobby nervous when he got the call. Out of the five of them, she was the most level headed; except when it came to them. Bobby knew it was only a matter of time before she snapped, and that morning had obviously been her final straw; and now she had gone and gotten herself admitted to the hospital.

Taking a hard right turn, Bobby careened into the hospital parking lot. Pulling right up to the main doors, he slammed the car into park before throwing the door open and climbing out.

"Sir!" a voice yelled after him as he walked through the electric doors. "Sir, you can't park there!" the voice pestered.

Bobby didn't even turn to look as he raised his hand and flipped the owner of the persistence voice the bird. He was through the doors before the voice could persist any more. Making a direct line for the front desk, he eyed up the young nurse sitting behind the counter. Clearly seeing his approach, she scrabbled with the papers in front of her; she clearly knew who Bobby was, and what he wanted.

"Room 215, second floor, right out of the elevator." She said before he could ask.

With a nod, Bobby averted his path towards the elevator. Taking several steadying breaths, he readied himself for whatever might be on the other side of the metal doors. Preparing for the worst always made reality easier to cope with. If he was ready to deal with broken ribs, shattered femur, or smashed in face, he was able to face what the real damage was. He uttered a small, silent prayer as the doors hissed open and he walked towards Quinn's room.

Bobby wasn't surprised to See Jack and Angel standing outside the door, arguing about something. Jack was on the defense as Angel laid into him; of what, Bobby was about to find out. Approaching the two, he clapped Jack on the back, gave Angel a nod before beginning with his questions.

"Fill me in, boys." He said, turning to look in through Quinn's open door. "What's the damage?"

"This dipshit let her get beat up." Angel said, giving Jack a pointed look.

Bobby's eyes widened as he turned his attention to his baby brother, "Is that right, Cracker Jack?"

Jack took a deep breath through his nose, switching his weight from one foot to the other, "It ain't like that, Bobby. Angel's overreacting."

"Two broken ribs, three bruised ribs, and a concussion ain't no exaggeration, man!" Angel retorted, smacking Jack on the back of the head.

"What?" Bobby asked, dumbfounded. He turned his full attention on Jack; shocked beyond belief by what he was hearing. "Tell me this ain't true, Jack."

"Look!" Jack cried, running his hand through his shaggy hair. "You weren't there. She wanted this." He pointed in Quinn's direction. Jack began telling them the entire account from when Quinn had pushed through the crowd, up until Jack had helped get her to the hospital. "She got up on that table, by herself, and picked this fight, by herself," he Looked Bobby straight in the eyes. "You would have been proud of her, man. She was bad ass."

"She wanted to prove herself," Angel said with a sigh. "Man…"

"She wanted to apologize." Bobby said, walking away from his brothers.

With light steps, he approached Quinn's bed. She was bandaged up, bruised, and half asleep. Gently, Bobby sat on the edge of her bed, waking her up fully. She rolled her head from one side to the other, looking for the source of disturbance. When her eyes found his, her bottom lip began to quiver. She did her best to smile, but failed miserably before she covered her face with her hand and let out a sob. Bobby's heart softened a little as he reached out a grabbed her hand, removing it from her face and forcing her to look at him. She choked on a small sob as she met his gaze with hers. Mad or not, ashamed or not, she was, and always would be, his baby sister.

"Damn it, Quinn," he said, giving her hand a light squeeze, "A fucking card would have been good enough."

She managed a laugh at that, rubbing her nose with her other hand.

"No, it wouldn't have," she sniffed loudly.

Bobby shrugged, "No, but it would have been a hell of a lot less painful; and expensive!" he threw his hand up, gesturing around the room. "How the fuck do you expect to pay for this?"

Quinn shook her head, "I'd taking of stripping, but I'm fat and can't dance." he laughed at that. "Bobby…" she said timidly.

Bobby looked at her, small and battered under the thin hospital sheet that covered the rest of the damage. She looked more scared than Bobby had ever seen her.

"Yeah, Quinnie-Bear?"

She took a deep breath, lip quivering again. "I'm sorry." It was scarcely a whisper.

Bobby closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before gently grabbing her by the hands, and pulling her into a hug. She really broke then, her body shaking as sobs rattled through her. Several more muffled apologies emanated from her as she tried to desperately make right her wrongs.

"Hey," he said, pulling her back from him. "Family," that was all it took for her to really break down; loud, heart breaking sobs began to roll out of her.

A nurse came in, displeasure etched on her face. "She needs to rest, this isn't good for her injuries." She stated. Coming over to Quinn, she grabbed one of the IVs and inserted a need into the end of one of the tubes. Bobby rocked Quinn as the nurse injected, what Bobby assumed, something to put her to sleep. It didn't take long for Quinn to pass out. Bobby leaned her back onto the pillow, covering up with the thin blankets before going to talk to his brothers.

Things were different now. Quinn had taken on something Bobby feared was bigger than she. He needed to discuss this with his brothers. If Quinn wanted to prove herself, Bobby wasn't about to stop her; but he wasn't going to let her do anything else that would land her in the hospital.

"So," Angel said as Bobby rejoined them in the hall. "What's the plan?"

Bobby smirked, "We're gonna wing it."

"There was some kid here when we showed up. Jack said he drove them both here after the incident; says he cleaned Quinn up after it was over." Angel informed him, Jack nodded his agreement.

"Well," Bobby said, looking both his brothers in the eyes, "We'll start there."

* * *

Happy Reading. Sorry if it's rough.  
3 Yorkie-s


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